Coalition nations take a multifaceted approach to defeating Daesh
UNIPATH STAFF
The flow of foreign fighters into conflict zones continues to be a major concern among coalition forces fighting Daesh and other violent extremist organizations in the Middle East, North Africa and Central and South Asia.
Daesh in particular has succeeded in drawing fighters to its ranks in Iraq and Syria, and more recently in Libya as well. Coalition forces have had some recent success in stemming the flow, most notably across the Turkish border.
But the phenomenon of foreign recruits leaving their homes to join barbarous groups in far-away lands is a complex one that defies easy answers. While the majority are young males, and a certain percentage come from troubled backgrounds with limited prospects for a better life, there is no common profile of a foreign fighter.
Likewise, there is no common motivating factor in deciding to join. Many are susceptible to the corrupted religious messages spewed by Daesh and other terror organizations, while others are simply seeking adventure, a paycheck, or an escape from their home countries.
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Their first step down the terror path often starts with exposure to the sort of slick social media propaganda that sets Daesh apart from its predecessors. The influence of relatives connected to terror groups and living in Western cities can complete the transformation.
Countering the online propaganda, boosting border enforcement, stiffening criminal penalties for enabling terrorists, and participating in a more robust sharing of information are strategies that coalition nations are pursuing to turn back foreign fighters at the border or, more important, to keep them from seeking to join terror groups in the first place.
In Tunisia, the source of more foreign fighters than any other country, new laws are keeping recruits from leaving the country. Saudi Arabia has arrested hundreds of suspected Daesh members and instituted a program to reintegrate them into society. Across Europe, police are identifying recruiting networks and making arrests.
Without question, coalition victories on the battlefield are critical to disrupting the recruitment of foreign fighters. But equally important is winning the hearts and minds of Muslims who are exposed to the deceptions of Daesh and other terror groups.
Who they are
In fact, Daesh’s ascent was based in large part on the phony narrative that it would create a self-proclaimed “caliphate” across areas of Syria and Iraq where followers could practice a purer form of Islam.
By the time Daesh began occupying cities in Syria and Iraq, thousands of disaffected youth had answered the call to join its ranks. Unlike calls from previous terror organizations offering martyrdom, Daesh pretends to offer a haven where people can live as devout Muslims.
“Many of these individuals, it would seem, are buying into that message and are going into there to live, not die,” Brian Dodwell, deputy director of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, told NBC News in April 2016.
The television network had obtained digital records revealing the backgrounds of 4,000 Daesh recruits. At about the same time, a Syrian news organization and a British TV station also obtained records providing a wealth of personal information about foreign recruits, including motivations for joining.
As Dodwell told NBC, “The largest takeaway from these documents is the massive diversity of the population.” Though the average age was about 26, they ranged from teenagers to men in their 60s. Schooling ranged from no formal education to master’s degrees.
Because recruitment spiked as Daesh occupied territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014, it appears a desire to live in the so-called caliphate was a major motivator.
Exactly how many fighters Daesh has — whether foreign-born or recruited within Iraq and Syria — is uncertain. Estimates from U.S. government agencies and from independent groups range from tens of thousands to as many as 200,000. Experts believe Daesh has surpassed other terror groups in attracting foreign fighters to its ranks.
During the 10 years the Soviets fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the total number of foreign fighters was estimated at between 20,000 and 35,000. In December 2015, The Soufan Group, an international consulting firm, put the number of foreign fighters who have traveled to Iraq and Syria over just a few years at roughly 30,000, migrating from 86 countries. U.S. intelligence agencies in January 2016 put the number at over 36,000 originating from more than 100 countries.
Countries in northwest Africa have accounted for about 8,000 of the fighters, with Tunisia providing the majority, the Soufan report found. Countries in the Middle East accounted for another 8,000, while Western Europe and the former Soviet republics each accounted for nearly 5,000 fighters.
The decision to join, according to the report, is more personal than political. “Although much of the propaganda put out by the Islamic State focuses on the civilian casualties arising from the military campaign waged against it, the majority of its video production appeals to those who seek a new beginning rather than revenge for past acts,” the report said. “A search for belonging, purpose, adventure, and friendship appear to remain the main reasons for people to join.”
Of concern to countries in Europe and North America, the firm found up to 30 percent of the recruits had returned to Western countries after being radicalized, representing a serious challenge to security in those countries.
Countermeasures
Coalition nations are well aware of the danger. As a result of the growing threat, about 45 countries have enacted laws or amendments to impede travel into Iraq and Syria, according to the Center for American Progress, an independent policy institute.
A March 2016 report by the institute said 35 countries have arrested suspected foreign fighters, and 12 of those countries have successfully prosecuted them. It found information sharing has improved, with more than 50 countries using Interpol’s Counter-Terrorism Fusion Centre to share fighter profiles, a substantial increase from a few years ago. And it noted the United States shares information on terrorist travel with 40 countries.
On the fiscal front, a 2015 report by the international Financial Action Task Force urged its members to identify financial red flags indicating someone is aiding terror organizations and to freeze bank accounts and debit cards used by fighters to travel across borders. The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution requiring member nations to criminalize the financing of travel by foreign fighters.
Militarily, airstrikes are eliminating some of the leading foreign fighters, including Omar al-Shishani, a Chechen who joined Daesh and became its “minister of war.” He was reportedly killed in an airstrike near Mosul in Iraq. And many countries are involved in vigorous cyber campaigns that are disrupting Daesh’s ability to recruit foreign fighters, conduct terror campaigns and even pay its fighters.
But challenges remain, particularly along the 500-mile border Turkey shares with Syria.
As the Center for American Progress reports, Turkey is the main artery for foreign fighters traveling to Syria. “Plugging the holes in Turkey’s porous border will be critical to stopping foreign fighters of all nationalities from crossing into Syria,” the report said. There are encouraging signs, though. Suspected foreign fighters are being arrested at the border, and some reports indicate the foreign fighter flow is lessening. But the sheer length of the border makes it impossible to disrupt the crossings entirely.
By far, Tunisia supplies more foreign fighters than any other single nation. As many as 6,000 Tunisians have joined Daesh and other terror groups in Iraq and Syria. A United Nations human rights group was told of sophisticated travel networks that guide recruits across porous borders. “The routes taken entail travel through Libya, then Turkey and its border at Antakya, and then Syria,” according to human rights expert Elzbieta Karska, who headed the U.N. group.
From 2011 to 2014, the Tunisian government seemed to tolerate the flow. But by 2015, the American Center for Progress found, “a set of counterterrorism measures was instituted after [Daesh] claimed credit for a mass shooting at a tourist resort. These measures included travel restrictions on Tunisians under age 35 to a number of countries, including Syria.” The government claims the restrictions blocked thousands of Tunisians from traveling to join terror groups. In August 2015, new counterterrorism laws criminalized enrollment in terrorist organizations, and expanded powers of surveillance against suspected terrorists and their recruits.
Second to Tunisia as a source of foreign fighters is Saudi Arabia, with an estimated 2,500. In response, Saudi Arabia has toughened its criminal sanctions and adopted innovative policies. Saudis joining conflicts outside the kingdom face long prison sentences or even death. Hundreds of suspected Daesh members have been arrested, and over 800 convictions secured for violating terror financing laws, the most of any nation, according to the Financial Action Task Force. At the same time, a unique anti-radicalization program attempts to reintegrate the prisoners into society. Through education, vocational training, family counseling, psychological therapy and religious discussion, the program hopes to change the behavior of convicted extremists.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Sawab Centre, established in Abu Dhabi in July 2015, counters Daesh propaganda across the region. Rather than focus on the brutality of Daesh, the center highlights the group’s ineptitude at establishing its self-proclaimed caliphate. In doing so, the center undercuts Daesh’s recruitment and fundraising. The UAE has also joined in coalition airstrikes in Iraq and sponsored initiatives such as Hedayah, the International Center of Excellence to Counter Violent Extremism, and the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies.
Jordan shares about 375 miles of its border with Syria and Iraq, and the Soufan Group estimates about 2,000 Jordanians have joined Daesh and the al-Nusrah Front. In response, Jordan has passed counterterrorism laws with tough prison sentences.
Countries in Central and South Asia are also working to stop the flow. Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have announced campaigns to blunt recruitment to Syria and Iraq. The Kyrgyz government established outreach events to appeal to young people typically recruited as fighters.
As in Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan has made fighting abroad a criminal offense. Kazakhstan has won a dozen convictions under its terror financing laws. It offers education and other opportunities to keep its youth on track and allocated $600 million for a preventive program called Countering Religious Extremism and Terrorism.
European countries subjected to terror atrocities have renewed efforts to share information about terrorists and recruiters living in their midst. The New York Times reports that at least 14 European countries have made receiving terrorism training a criminal offense, and nine have criminalized travel to the war zones of Syria and Iraq. Two trials in April 2016 involving French terrrorist cells resulted in 10-year sentences for “criminal conspiracy with the aim of preparing acts of terrorism.”
In February 2016, Belgian police arrested 10 people they said were part of a network recruiting people to fight with Daesh in Syria. That same week, 31 people faced trial for belonging to a terrorist group recruiting for Daesh between 2012 and 2014.
A month later, European education ministers gathered in Paris to discuss ways to counter the messages by terror groups that seem to resonate with young people. As Al Jazeera reported, the educators worked with the Radicalization Awareness Network, a network of teachers, social workers, health officials and others who engage with at-risk youth, on ways detect radicalization at an early stage and prevent them from heading down the wrong path.
Conclusion
The U.N. Security Council in 2014 cited an urgent need to stem the foreign-fighter flow, calling on all nations to prevent the “recruiting, organizing, transporting or equipping of individuals who travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality for the purpose of the perpetration, planning of, or participation in terrorist acts.”
Coalition nations have responded with a multifaceted strategy that is thinning the ranks of foreign fighters and preventing their replenishment.