Iraqi Soldiers (La Stampa)

According to the British weekly The Economist, the last three years of upheaval in the Fertile Crescent benefited Islamic extremists, leading to the proclamation of a new Islamic state, or "caliphate", which exceeds even Al Qaeda brutality and fanaticism. This reality has given birth to a new political formation called ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria), and has conquered Baghdad, Mosul, Falluja, Tikrit (the hometown of Saddam Hussein), a large part of Syria in the north, as well as eastern and western and northern factions of Iraq. 


The organization has seized several weapons from the United States and has forced more than half a million civilians to flee. In the new state, serious incidents were reported such as the crucifixion of three young men in a small town near Aleppo, who were presumed guilty of having co-operated with a rival band of rebels. 


The aim is to force the inhabitants of the Middle East into submission by terror. Hundreds of students, journalists, aid workers and diplomats (often Turkish) have been kidnapped in recent months. ISIS is also uses the notorious technique of filming the beheading of political opponents and streaming videos online, more often than their counterparts, Al Qaeda.
 
Putin attempts to use his voice to weigh in on the situation in the area, sending some jets to support the Maliki government in the fight against this emerging Sunni caliphate (the Sunnis are the most common name of Islam, they are now in a situation of great distress and anger according to most observers and the leader of ISIS Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi is sure to embody "the dream of all Muslims"). The ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani invited all the subjects of the new state from Aleppo to "reject democracy, secularism, nationalism and other filth of the West. Return to your religion," he has told civilians. Since the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the caliph was designated as the "emir of the believers" or "prince" in the Muslim world. This is a custom that has disappeared with the Ottoman Empire. 


According to Professor Charles Lister at the Brookings Institution in Doha, interviewed by Repubblica.it, the announcement of this caliphate "is the most important development in the international jihad after September 11, 2001" and "could mark the birth of a new era of transnational jihadism. This is a real threat to Al Qaeda and its leadership." The government of Nuri al-Maliki, who at the current time is agreeing "important goals" with the officials sent by Obama, will not have an easy time in attempts to regain Tikrit and other towns north of Baghdad.