As Charlie Winter noted recently at War on the Rocks, the Islamic State’s robust social media apparatus has been propagating a remarkably effective, multi-faceted communications strategy that incorporates narratives of statehood, military success, and religious legitimacy. The Islamic State’s success in using social media to disseminateits extremist ideas and mobilize tens of thousands of foreign…
Category: ISIS Corner
Al Shabaab pledges Loyalty to ISIS
With ISIS gaining the support of both Boko Haram and now Al Shabaab in Africa, it has solidified its position in that politically fractured country and at the same time secured its Southern Flank in its campaign to conquer Europe.-SF The Islamic State has already won the loyalty of Boko Haram in Nigeria and many…
Know Your Enemy: The Believer
IBRAHIM AWWAD IBRAHIM AL-BADRI was born in 1971 in Samarra, an ancient Iraqi city on the eastern edge of the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad. The son of a pious man who taught Quranic recitation in a local mosque, Ibrahim himself was withdrawn, taciturn, and, when he spoke, barely audible. Neighbors who knew him…
The ISIS Corner #2: The War for Control of the Narrative Rages
To change the minds of more than 16 million Muslims who could support the Islamic State, almost entirely via social media, the U.S. State Department has a counter propaganda team of just about 20 people, according to a senior Pentagon official. Translation: the U.S. is not doing enough to out-tweet ISIS. Michael Lumpkin, assistant secretary of…
Learning from Terrorist Tactics: Exploiting islamic Garb and Male Cross-Dressing
I know it sounds hilarious when you first hear it, but this is actually a fairly standard tactic among terrorist overseas. Consider this most recent incident as reported by Jihad Watch. The underlying principles for this tactic are quite simple, regardless if it is a man or woman in the garb: A fully clothed…
The ISIS Corner #1: A Prime Example of Propaganda, Wasted Government Resources and Why ISIS is Winning
Just like Cartel Corner that deals with the Mexican and South American Drug Cartels, this is the first in a series of articles dealing strictly with IS (or ISIS) the Islamic State Terrorist Group. Let me know what you guys think and want to see more of. -SF US Officials Ask How ISIS Got So…