If ISIS had a 3-24 (III): The goals of fighting, and some lessons on defense
By Carter Malkasian Best Defense guest columnist Chapter Two: Fighting Capturing and controlling territory would be one of ISIL’s major goals. An ISIL field manual would describe how to mass 200-2,000 fighters for major operations to capture cities. It would instruct these groups to surround Iraqi government or Syrian government positions. The positions then might ...
By Carter Malkasian
By Carter Malkasian
Best Defense guest columnist
Chapter Two: Fighting
Capturing and controlling territory would be one of ISIL’s major goals. An ISIL field manual would describe how to mass 200-2,000 fighters for major operations to capture cities. It would instruct these groups to surround Iraqi government or Syrian government positions. The positions then might be assaulted directly; martyrdom operations (suicide car bombs) the favored tactic, ISIL’s substitute for air power and artillery. Or the positions might be left isolated and cut off, or convinced to surrender or flee. The manual would allow for options other than rapid decisive victory. ISIL would not fear to counsel patience.
On the defensive, such as against the Iraqi Army, the manual would review the vast lessons learned fighting the United States over the past decade, not just in Iraq but in Afghanistan as well. It would describe how to defend buildings and obstruct armored movement. It would go in detail how to avoid air strikes. It would instruct commanders to fight in cities, use cover and camouflage, stay close to civilians, and avoid massing in large obvious groups. There might be some information on how to avoid detection by surveillance and intelligence but most of that information would be passed by word of mouth — ISIL would not want the United States reading their countermeasures.
In the face of superior numbers or firepower, the manual would advise commanders to temporarily fall back or resort to guerrilla fedayeen (guerrilla) attacks. These include ambushes, sniper attacks, IEDs, and more martyrdom operations in order to wear the enemy down until direct assaults can be attempted. Baghdad and Damascus would be prime locations for such attacks.
Chapter Three: Government
ISIL currently controls big pieces of Syria and Iraq. Administration of that territory would be detailed within a manual. ISIL recognizes that education, health care, and rule of law build their legitimacy among the people. The manual would describe how to set up and maintain the kind of governance that ISIL already runs in Syria and Iraq: a health care system, Islamic education that includes schools for girls, Islamic courts. It would also explain how aid should be distributed. All this administration would fall under the caliphate and would accord with Islamic law.
(More to come)
Carter Malkasian is the author of War Comes to Garmser and was an advisor to the Marines in Al Anbar in 2004 and 2006.
More from Foreign Policy
Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.
The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.
Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.
How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
