And all the while, the Caliphate country they fight and die to support has continued to grow and mature. The mujāhidīn enjoy fighting the most, but they have proved to be remarkably good at adapting to the needs of social requirements and government, too. Having established their country and set a new order in place within the Middle East, what happens over the next few years is more up to the Islamic State than any exterior force.
The first option is that they continue to expand the borders of the Caliphate throughout the region until economic or military limitations stop them and they afterwards consolidate their positions. Too bad for the West, it doesn’t look like such limitations exist for the Caliphate.
The second option is that they goad the West into launching an all-out ground attack, thereby setting the scene for the final battle between Muslims and the crusaders prophesized to be held at Dābiq in Syria, by conducting an operation overseas that is so destructive that America and its allies will have no alternative but to send in an army. This would have to be something on the same scale, if not bigger, than 9/11. Then again, I’m just guessing. American “hawks” may very well come to Dābiq on their own without the Islamic State needing to blow up any dirty bombs in Manhattan.
In a piece published in The Independent on 21st June titled “We cannot destroy ISIS, so we will have to learn to live with it,” former counter-terrorism chief for MI6 Richard Barrett wrote, “Iraq and Syria will not return to how they were, and whatever it ends up calling itself, a new entity has emerged that will remain in some form. Currently that entity is aggressive, intolerant and uncompromising, but it is a truth that for all its dystopian features, ISIS offers those living under its rule better governance in some respects than they received from the state before it took over. Corruption is far less prevalent, and justice, albeit brutal, is swift and more evenly applied.”
The Islamic State’s rapid consolidation and shrewd governance of its territories has no doubt caught world leaders by as much surprise as its sudden blitz and capture of Mosul. If you’d told a politician in New York in June 2014 that by October 2015 the Islamic State would have achieved what they have, he’d have laughed in your face. It’s fair to say that the same politician isn’t laughing today.