	The Islamic State

The Islamic State organization (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da'esh ) emerged as a major international security threat amid more than a decade of conflict in Iraq after 2003 and the outbreak of unrest and conflict in Syria in 2011 (see Appendix A ). The group's core mem bership remains in Iraq and Syria, and its efforts have been bolstered by a network of foreign fighters and affiliate groups in several countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia (see Appendix B ). Nevertheless, Defense Department officials assess that the Islamic State "is well-positioned to rebuild and work on enabling its physical caliphate to re-emerge," and "probably is still more capable than Al Qaeda in Iraq at its peak in 2006-2007, when the group had declared an Islamic state and operated under the name Islamic State of Iraq...." From a counterterrorism and broader security perspective, U.S. officials assess that the group is prosecuting active insurgent campaigns in Iraq and Syria and remains a threat in and beyond these areas. This may be attributable to difficulties in travel and attrition. The Obama Administration's strategy for reducing the threats posed by the Islamic State was predicated on the principle of working "by, with, and through" U.S.-supported local partners as an alternative to large and direct applications of U.S. military force and/or large investments of U.S. personnel and resources. Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for the continuation of U.S. military operations against the Islamic State, for the continued training and equipping of partner forces, and for the stabilization of areas recaptured from the Islamic State. In August 2018, IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi praised individual attackers active to date in Europe, Canada, and other "countries of the cross," urging others to follow their example using "what is easy to obtain" and said such attacks "equal one thousand operations where we are." U.S. Military Operations against the Islamic State

The Trump and Obama Administrations have considered groups and individuals associated with the Islamic State and participating in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners to be legitimate military targets pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Al Qaeda ( P.L. Afghanistan. The United States also provided two surveillance aircraft and two surveillance drones in 2017 and 2018 for counterterrorism purposes. Outlook and Select Issues for the 115th Congress

U.S. officials have stated that the Islamic State is likely to evolve into an insurgency force in both Syria and Iraq, despite the success of coalition forces in significantly degrading the group's capabilities. The U.S. intelligence community assessed in February 2018 that the Islamic State "will remain a terrorist and insurgent threat, and the group will seek to exploit Sunni discontent to conduct attacks and try to regain Iraqi territory." As noted above, U.S., coalition, and local partner forces have degraded the Islamic State's ability to operate in much of Syria, but it is not certain that the Asad government, its partners, and U.S. partners would be able to maintain and consolidate these gains in the absence of U.S. and coalition operations and support. Members of Congress continue to debate the proper means and ends for U.S. efforts to combat the Islamic State organization while exercising oversight over U.S. military operations and a wide array of other counter-IS programs. Key questions in ongoing executive and legislative policy debates include the following:
How should the United States balance the use of diplomatic, military, intelligence, economic, and law enforcement tools in responding to various IS-related threats? What stabilization assistance might be needed? Appendix A. The implications of such pledges of loyalty to the Islamic State on groups' objectives, tactics, and leadership structures appear to vary and may evolve. Since late 2017, Islamist extremist groups reportedly have regrouped and begun to attract hundreds of new followers.
The Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da'esh) is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 through 2017. The group attracted a network of global supporters and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, received pledges of affiliation from groups in several other countries. A series of terrorist attacks attributed to the group or to individuals it has inspired have claimed hundreds of lives on four continents since November 2015, including in the United States.
While U.S. and allied forces in 2017 and 2018 successfully liberated most of the territory formerly held by the group in Syria and Iraq, IS leadership remains at large and IS fighters appear to be evolving into an insurgent force. The group's international affiliates continue to operate, and individuals inspired by the group continue to attempt attacks in Europe and elsewhere. The stabilization of areas recovered from the group in Iraq and Syria remains an ongoing challenge, and a U.S. military spokesperson for the counter-IS campaign warned in August 2018 that, "We cannot emphasize enough that the threat of losing the gains we have made is real, especially if we are not able to give the people a viable alternative to the ISIS problem."
Members of Congress, executive branch officials, and their international counterparts continue to debate a range of proposals for consolidating battlefield gains made to date and preventing the Islamic State from succeeding in its stated objectives of remaining and expanding. President Obama's goals for U.S. strategy were to degrade and ultimately defeat the Islamic State through U.S. direct military action and support for local partner forces. President Donald Trump directed his Administration to develop a comprehensive plan to defeat the group and has accelerated U.S. military operations while augmenting U.S. contributions to stabilization in liberated areas.
The U.S. military continues to conduct operations against the group in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, while monitoring and occasionally striking its affiliates and personnel elsewhere. Parallel U.S. assistance efforts support stabilization in areas once held by the group, and diplomatic efforts have promoted political reconciliation among local factions in countries where Islamic State supporters are active. The United States also provides security assistance to partner governments in support of operations against Islamic State affiliates and to strengthen the ability of partners to deter and respond to Islamic State attacks. Evolving counterterrorism cooperation and intelligence sharing efforts among a wider network of concerned governments seek to further limit the ability of IS supporters to carry out transnational terrorist attacks.
Interrelated conflicts and political crises in Iraq, Syria, and other countries where the Islamic State operates complicate efforts to address and durably eliminate the threats posed by the group. Military operations may reduce the numbers of IS fighters and liberate IS-held territory, but the underlying political disputes and development challenges that the Islamic State has exploited may create ongoing openings for the group if governance and reconstruction needs go unmet. Governments may continue to face difficult decisions about the potential risks and rewards of various military, law enforcement, surveillance, intelligence sharing, financial, border security, refugee admission, and consular countermeasures.
This report provides background on the Islamic State organization, discusses its goals, operations, and affiliates, reviews U.S. legislative and policy debates, and reviews relevant legislation from the 114th and 115th Congresses. For more information, see CRS Report RL33487, Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response; CRS Report R45096, Iraq: In Brief; CRS Report R43760, A New Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State: Issues and Current Proposals; and, CRS In Focus IF10328, The Islamic State.