Law & Paneir

By  Jessica D. Lewis Many have asked what needs to be done about the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the terrorist organization that recently took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. Questions range from the acceptability of airstrikes and the viability of a national unity government in Iraq to the feasibility of a counter-offensive that depends upon the remaining capacity of the Iraq Security Forces. These are important and worthy questions, and timely, because ISIS is growing stronger. But these questions preempt the rigorous analysis that is required in order to determine what the U.S. should do about ISIS and why.  ISIS is no longer a mere terrorist organization, but one that operates like an army. It is no longer just an army, but one that is conquering land in Iraq and Syria to establish new ideological rule, in line with al-Qaeda’s endgame. This is no longer a war of ideas against an extremist group with sparse networks, flashy strategic messag...

By Shubhda Chaudhary Introduction The spread and impact of terrorism in South East Asian countries is not a new phenomenon. The presence of home-grown terrorist groups in these countries still remains a major concern. The Abu Sayyaf militants who killed almost 50 people by raiding a Christian town of Ipil in the Philippines in 1995 are an instance of it. In addition, around 222 people were killed by home grown terrorists in Bali, Indonesia in 2002 and 2005. Even now eastern Indonesia and Southern Philippines have cases of kidnappings and killings. What indeed is worrisome is how ISIS is able to reach out to the Asia-Pacific region and recruit citizens to fight in Syria and Iraq. What must be understood that the spill-over effect of ISIS is not limited to the Middle East alone but to the entire Muslim population in general and thus, the matter needs to be sensitively dealt with. This article deals with the growing threat of ISIS in the South East Asian countries of Indonesia, M...