News Release
Islamic State Control of People Down 83% in Iraq and 56% in Syria from Peak Levels
Apr 20, 2017
The Islamic State has lost substantial amounts of territory but continues to conduct and inspire attacks around the world. This report assesses the threat the Islamic State poses to the United States and examines strategies to counter the group and prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State or other Salafi-jihadist groups.
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The Islamic State is a byproduct of the 2003 American intervention in Iraq and the subsequent American departure in 2011. At its peak in late 2014, the group held more than 100,000 square kilometers of territory with a population of nearly 12 million, mostly in Iraq and Syria. Beginning in 2015, the Islamic State began to lose territory as it faced increasingly effective resistance. Still, the Islamic State continues to conduct and inspire attacks around the world. This report assesses the threat the Islamic State poses to the United States and examines four possible strategies to counter the group: disengagement, containment, rollback "light" (with a reliance on local forces backed by U.S. special operations forces, Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence assets, and airpower), and rollback "heavy" (adding the employment of American conventional forces in ground combat). The authors conclude that the United States should pursue a light rollback strategy. They also recommend additional steps, such as rebalancing counterterrorism efforts to address grievances, loosening restrictions on U.S. military operations, increasing U.S. military posture in Africa, and tightening restrictions in the Islamic State's internet access.
Part I
The Challenge and Approach
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
The Rise and Decline of the Islamic State
Chapter Three
U.S. Strategy
Part II
Country Campaigns
Chapter Four
Iraq
Chapter Five
Syria
Chapter Six
Libya
Chapter Seven
Nigeria
Chapter Eight
Egypt
Chapter Nine
Afghanistan
Part III
The Global Campaign
Chapter Ten
The Ideological and Information Campaign
Chapter Eleven
Recommendations
Appendix A
Per-Troop Rollback Cost Methodology
Appendix B
Security, Economic, and Humanitarian Assistance Cost Methodology
This research was conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD).
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