From Reuters: Islamic State is talking to al Qaeda about a possible alliance as Iraqi troops close in on IS fighters in Mosul, Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi said in an interview on Monday. Allawi said he got the information on Monday from Iraqi and regional contacts knowledgeable about Iraq. "The discussion has started now," … Continue reading Coming Crawling Back: ISIS Seeks Alliance with Al-Qaeda
After Mosul Falls, What Then?
There are some 100,000 troops involved in the conquest (or reconquest, depending on your perspective) of Mosul. On the surface, the battle is meant to restore the Iraqi government to its full writ; a Baghdad-united Shi'a and Sunni realm, a nation-state on the way to functionality. In other words, a normal country. Ah, dreams. Careful … Continue reading After Mosul Falls, What Then?
The Bloody End of 2016’s Ramadan
Certainly, the end of this year's Ramadan will go down as one of the century's bloodiest. First Istanbul; then, Dhaka, rounded off by Baghdad, Qatif, Medina, and Jeddah. It's not wholly clear just how much the Islamic State controlled or directed these attacks, or merely inspired them, but owing to their scale, scope, and timing, … Continue reading The Bloody End of 2016’s Ramadan
NATO could destroy the Islamic State. So why don’t they?
NATO is the most powerful military alliance in human history: it combines 3 of the world's 7 nuclear-armed powers and tops it off with the conventional power of the world's lone superpower. It has potentially formidable military powers within it: Germany, Italy, France, and Britain could all well rearm to much success should they so … Continue reading NATO could destroy the Islamic State. So why don’t they?
One Year Later, We Must Still Ask, “Who the Hell is ISIS?”
It's now been just about a year since the United States went to war with the Islamic State, which is commonly called ISIL by the Obama administration or ISIS by everyone else who feels awkward about using IS's self-declared name. Here at Geopolitics Made Super, I don't shy away from using the very name IS … Continue reading One Year Later, We Must Still Ask, “Who the Hell is ISIS?”
Why the Islamic State Must Provoke a Civil War In Saudi Arabia
To secure itself, the Islamic State must destroy its nearest Sunni Arab rivals, and Saudi Arabia is a tempting target.
Why the hell is ISIS attacking Kuwait, Tunisia, and France? (Or: When Terrorists/Revolutionaries Try To Build Nation-States, The Results Aren’t Pretty)
IS-inspired attacks have struck Tunisia, Kuwait, and France. Here's why, for the Islamic State, that makes a great deal of sense.
The How To Guide of Defeating the Islamic State (Or: The Geopolitics of Defeating True Believers)
Defeating the Islamic State will require all the brutality of World War II and all the subtly of the Cold War. Here's how now the guide to the conditions that must be present before the Islamic State is defeated.
Thinking the Unthinkable: When Will It Make Sense To Divide Iraq?
Iraq looks more failed by the day; when will it make sense to break it up? Only when it's overwhelmingly obvious.
The Islamic State Floats a Truce: Or, How Geopolitics Can Make Even Madmen Go Sane
The Islamic State proposes a truce, of sorts. Here's why that makes geopolitical sense, and the tale of how revolutions must betray themselves to survive.
