Publication

This brief examines how the Sunni resistance to the 2003-2011 occupation of Iraq eclipsed the prominence of al-Qaida in the Middle East and changed the nature and strategies of radical Islamists. It also analyzes the impact of the post-2014 US-led air campaign against so-called Islamic State (IS), the apparent change in recent IS tactics, and how the greater involvement of the UK and other actors may play into IS’ plan/trap.