In 2014, the Islamic State shocked the world when it defeated national armies on the battlefield and seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. The group's military success can be traced to four key variables: organizational innovation, shaping operations, will to fight, and a knack for retaining the initiative. The IS military project led not only to the declaration of a "caliphate," but to the proliferation of jihadist franchises that devastated countries, displaced millions, and killed tens of thousands. Yet the group's weaknesses ultimately led to the collapse of its territorial achievement. Expert Ido Levy begins this pioneering study by surveying jihadist warfare from the 1970s to the present. He then incorporates primary sources and interviews with military officers, experts, and journalists to explain how IS used conventional military capabilities to defeat larger, better-equipped state armies and conquer land in Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Philippines, and Nigeria. Anchored by four case studies-Ramadi, Kobane, Mosul, and Baghuz-the volume illuminates potential strategies to prevent a resurgence by IS or similar groups.
IDO LEVY is IDO LEVY is an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, specializing in military and counterterrorism operations. Formerly editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Public Policy Review, he has written for publications including Studies in Conflict & Terrorism and Middle East Policy. He holds a master's degree from Georgetown University.an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, specializing in military and counterterrorism operations. Formerly editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Public Policy Review, he has written for publications including Studies in Conflict & Terrorism and Middle East Policy. He holds a master's degree from Georgetown University.
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Sunni Jihadist Armies Before 2014 Origins and Elements of Islamic State Military Effectiveness IS Performance in Conventional Operations Sources of IS Military Effectiveness IS Military Operations Outside Iraq and Syria Assessing the Islamic State's Way of War Lessons Learned and Policy Implications
Ido Levy's Soldiers of End-Times is a remarkable book. It is a work combining meticulous research with superb analysis, and thereby provides an outstanding assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Islamic State in battle. In so doing, Levy demonstrates why the armies of the Islamic State enjoyed such success early on and yet ultimately failed to sustain their caliphate under assault by American-backed Iraqi and Syrian forces. Levy's insights into IS performance also provide critical lessons regarding how the United States can fight similar nonstate actors waging hybrid warfare campaigns, as well as how the U.S. can better train foreign partner militaries to cope with the challenge of militaries like that of the Islamic State. -- Kenneth M. Pollack, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute This is an exceptional monograph on the Islamic State military's strategy and tactics-easily the best I have seen. The breadth of sources for this paper makes it the most compelling and comprehensive explanation of the rise of the group that you will find. -- Craig Whiteside, professor, U.S. Naval War College, and Lt. Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army
