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uly 29, 2014
A STRATEGY FOR DEFEATING ISIS
IN SYRIA AND IRAQ
Prepared statement by
Max Boot
i
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies
Council on Foreign Relations
Before the
U.S. House Committee on Armed Services
United States House of Representatives
2
nd
Session, 113
th
Congress
Hearing on Iraq and Syria
ChairmanMcKeon,RankingMemberSmith,membersofthecommittee:
Thank you for inviting me here to testify about what is arguably the most pressing national
securitythreatweface—thetakeoverofavastswatheofterritoryinIraqandSyriabytheIslamicStateof
IraqandSyria(ISIS).ISIS,onceknownasAlQaedainIraq,hasrecentlyrenameditselftheIslamicState
and proclaimed a fundamentalist caliphate, with its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria. Its territory
encompasses roughly a third of Syria and at least a third if not more of Iraq. The fact that Islamist
extremists have taken over an area larger than New England is not just of concern to Iraq, Syria, and
neighboringstates.ItisofdirectconcerntotheU.S.AbuBakral‐Baghdadi,theself‐proclaimedemirof
thisnewcaliphate,hasmadenosecretofhisanimositytowardourcountry.“Ourlastmessageistothe
Americans.Soonwewillbeindirectconfrontation,andthesonsofIslamhavepreparedforsuchaday,”
BaghdadisaidinanaudiotapebackinJanuary.“Sowatch,forwearewithyou,watching.”
EvenifISISistoobusyfightingIraqiSecurityForcesatthemoment—somethingthatitisdoing
withdisturbingsuccess—tofocusonplotsagainsttheUS,thereislittledoubtthatitscontinuingcontrol
ofsomuchterritorygreatlyheightenstheriskofinternationalterrorism.EverytimeSalafistextremists
havemanagedtoconsolidatecontrolofterritory,whetherinMaliorAfghanistan,theyhaveturnedtheir
stateintoamagnetforinternationaljihadistswhoflocktheretobetrainedandindoctrined.Some,itis
true,neverleave—theybecome“martyrs”whilefightingagainstlocalenemies.Butsomesmallportion