INTRODUCTION

POLITICAL SITUATION OF SYRIA

On early March of 2011 of Syria, there is a Syrian Civil War also known as Syrian Uprising or Syrian Revolution against the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assads government. Protesters demanded an end to the authoritarian practices of the Assad regime, in place since Assads father,afiz al-Assad, became president in 1971. The Syrian government used violence to suppress demonstrations, making extensive use of police, military, and paramilitary forces. Amateur footage and eyewitness accounts, the primary sources of information in a country largely closed to foreign journalists, showed the Syrian security forces beating and killing protesters and firing indiscriminately into crowds. Opposition militias began to form in 2011, and by 2012 the conflict had expanded into a full-fledged civil war. [footnoteRef:2] The conflict between the government and the protesters gradually changed from popular protests to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges. [2: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1781371/Syrian-Civil-War]

In 2013,Lebanons Hezbollahentered the war in support of the Syrian army.The Hezbollah members are fighting in Syria against Islamic extremists who pose a danger to Lebanon. [footnoteRef:3] In the east, theIslamic State of Levant(ISIL), a jihadist militant group originating from theIraq War, made rapid military gains in both Syriaand Iraq. They eventuallywent on fighting with the other rebel groups. In July 2014, ISIL controlled a third of Syria's territory and most of its oil and gas production, thus establishing itself as the major opposition force in the Syrian Civil War. [footnoteRef:4] [3: http://news.yahoo.com/hezbollah-chief-says-group-fighting-syria-162721809.html] [4: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n16/patrick-cockburn/isis-consolidates]

POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN IRAQ

The tables turned since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, most Sunnis (one of the two main branches of Islam, commonly described as orthodox, and differing from Shia in its understanding of the Sunna and in its acceptance of the first three caliphs) continue to feel that they are bearing the brunt of Iraqi Shiite (an adherent of the Shia branch of Islam) anger towards the former Sunni-led regime. Tens of thousands of Sunnis lost their jobs as a result of de-Baathification measures which were carried out indiscriminately. While Shiites were actively being recruited and employed by the new security apparatus, Sunnis were either not hired or threatened out of joining by insurgents, a fact that has been especially glaring considering that Sunnis comprised the highest ranking members of Iraqs former security forces. Discrimination against Sunnis under the guise of anti-Baathification measures was manifested most prominently at the political level when more than 400 candidates60 percent of whom were Sunniwerebanned from participating in the 2010 election. Members of the Sunni Sahwa Movement, many of whom wereprovided arms by the US, have been detained for illegal possession of weapons.In the worst cases, communities have faced large-scale detentions and targeted killing by Shiite death squads, or have been targeted in reprisal attacks for violence committed by al-Qaeda against Shiites. One of the bloodiest waves of reprisal killings against Sunnis occurred following the bombing of the Shiite al-Askari Mosque in 2006. In a matter of days after the attack, which was supposedlycarried out by al-Qaeda, more than 1,000 Sunnis were killed in anti-Sunni rampages across the country, in addition to a string of kidnappings and mosque burnings.Such discrimination has added a new dimension to the debate over federalism in Iraq. While Sunnis have traditionally opposed the establishment of new federal entities since doing so would leave them isolated in the resource-poor regions they inhabit,the debate has taken a new turnas their disillusion with the status-quo in Iraq grows and the hope that the Shiite-led political apparatus will solve the problems of all the nations sectarian components grows dimmer. This is especially surprising considering that Sunnis had vehemently opposed the Constitutional stipulations that enshrined the potential establishment of separate entities.

Legislation supported by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq in 2005 and 2006 to allow for thepotential establishment of a semi-autonomous Shiite regionin southern Iraq was opposed by both secular and religious Sunnis, along with the Shiite Islamist Sadrists. In 2008, the Accord Front publically stated thatadoption of any federalist system would only lead to more divisionand violence amongst different Iraqi sectarian groups.[footnoteRef:5][footnoteRef:6] [5: http://www.islamopediaonline.org/country-profile/iraq/islam-and-major-political-movements/discrimination-against-sunnis-and-question-] [6: http://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/al-qaeda-organization-land-two-rivers-aqi]

HISTORY OF ISIS

The Jama'at al-tawhid wa'al-jihad or more commonly known as The Organization of Monotheism and Jihad (JTJ) was formed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 1999 against the presence of United States and Western military forces in the Islamic area and the Western support given to Israel. On October 2004, al-Zarqawi pledged loyalty to Osama Bin Laden which led to the groups change of name to Tanzim qa'idat al-jihad in bilad al-rafidayn. Although not self-proclaimed, it has been known as the Al-Qaeda of Iraq naming al-Zarqawi as its al-Qaida title as Emir of al-Qaida in the Country of Two Rivers. The journey of Tanzim qa'idat al-jihad in bilad al-rafidayn flourished as Operation Iraqi Freedom against U.S. and Coalition Forces which attracted other insurgent Iraqi group which formed Mujahideem Shura Council on January 2006.

Three months after the death of al-Zarqawi in June 2006, Mujahideem Shura Council more insurgent fractions joined the group changing its name to Dawlat al-Iraq al-Islmyah or Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). A cabinet was formed proclaiming a figurehead emir and emir which were both killed in April 2010 making Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the current leader of ISI. On April 2013, ISI released a message from its leader announcing that Syria jihadi group, Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) has been an extension of ISI in Syria. The message contained affirmation of financial support of ISI to JN and declared their separate group names as invalid for it be has been known as merged Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham. Al-Sham meant Levant or Greater Syria making it more popular in the name of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). While on August 2014, leading Islamic authority Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah in Egypt advised Muslims to stop calling the group Islamic State because of its un-Islamic character. Instead, it should be called Al-Qaeda Separatists in Iraq and Syria or OSIS. 5 [footnoteRef:7] [footnoteRef:8] [footnoteRef:9] [footnoteRef:10] [7: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/zarqawi.htm] [8: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/who-are-isis-the-rise-of-the-islamic-state-in-iraq-and-the-levant-9541421.html] [9: http://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/islamic-state-iraq-islamic-state-iraq-and-sham-isis] [10: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/isis-a-short-history/376030/]

ISIS IDEOLOGY

The ideological roots of ISIS upon the pledge of JTJ to Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader of Iraq which embraces a Salafi-jihadi ideology or Salafist ideology. [footnoteRef:11] [11: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-isis-chronicles-history-10895]

This ideology primarily highlights the return of Islam to its authentic beliefs and practices of al-salaf al-salih or pious ancestors compromised of Prophet Muhammad. ISIS believes that establishment of an Islamic State constitutes the means by which their beliefs and practices are applied.

Secondarily, Salafist ideology grasps the concept of tawhid or oneness or unity in God. It is divided into three categories, (1) tawhid al-rububiyah or oneness of Lordship, (2) tawhid al-uluhiyah or oneness of Godship and (3) tawhid al-asma wal-sifat or oneness of the names and attributes of God. First category entails that God is the only creator and attribution to other God constitutes unbelief in the ideology. Second category involves that God is the only object of worship of other God forms unbelief in the ideology. Third category implies that Gods depiction is literally limited only to that presented in the revelation.[footnoteRef:12] [12: http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/09/muhammad-isis-iraqs-full-story.html]

In relation to the third category, followers of Sadafist ideology are literalist in reading the text of their Koran and Sunnah with regards to the customs and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and they uphold the ridding of Islam of all bida or reprehensible or illegitimate innovations in belief and practice.

ISIS ideology enforces their vision of Islam in belief and manifest action and those not following their beliefs are considered blasphemous. Although some of Iraq condemns such practice of ISIS for it is blood-spattering actions that inflicted heavy damages on both Sunnis and Shia irrespective of Iraqs communal and political situation. [footnoteRef:13] [13: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html]

ISIS PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy of the terrorist group is on quite based on traditional ideas of force and warfare, they aim to seize and hold territory in Iraq and Syria, stated a senior international security analyst working on the Syrian crisis via news.vice.com. Accordingly, the acts such as beheading of the ISIS were internal in nature such of religious sacrifice. The only external in nature were those political propaganda purposes. [footnoteRef:14] [14: https://news.vice.com/article/australias-foiling-of-an-alleged-islamic-state-beheading-plot-raises-questions]

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

A chronology of key events:1534 - 1918- Region is part of the Ottoman Empire.1534-1918- Ottoman rule.1917- Britain seizes control, creates state of Iraq.1932- Independence, followed by coups.1979- Saddam Hussein becomes president.1980-1988- Iran-Iraq war.1990- Iraq invades Kuwait, putting it on a collision course with the international community.1991- Iraq subjected to sanctions, weapons inspections and no-fly zones.2003- US-led coalition invades, starting years of guerrilla warfare and instability.1914 - 1918- World War I.1917- Britain seizes Baghdad.1920- Britain creates state of Iraq with League of Nations approval.1920- Great Iraqi Revolution - rebellion against British rule.1921- Faysal, son of Hussein Bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, is crowned Iraq's first king.1932- Iraq becomes an independent state.1939-1945- World War II. Britain re-occupies Iraq.1958- The monarchy is overthrown in a military coup led by Brig Abd-al-Karim Qasim and Col Abd-al-Salam Muhammad Arif. Iraq is declared a republic.1963- Prime Minister Qasim is ousted in a coup led by the Arab Socialist Baath Party (ASBP). Arif becomes president.1963- The Baathist government is overthrown by Arif and a group of officers.1966- After Arif is killed in a helicopter crash on 13 April, his elder brother, Maj-Gen Abd-al-Rahman Muhammad Arif, succeeds him as president.1968- A Baathist led-coup ousts Arif. Revolution Command Council (RCC) takes charge with Gen Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr as chairman and country's president.

Petroleum firm nationalised

1972- Iraq nationalises the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC).1974- Iraq grants limited autonomy to Kurdish region.1979- Saddam Hussein succeeds Al-Bakr as president.1980- The pro-Iranian Dawah Party claims responsibility for an attack on Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, at Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad.

Iran-Iraq war

1980-1988- Iran-Iraq war.1981June - Israel attacks an Iraqi nuclear research centre at Tuwaythah near Baghdad.

Chemical attack on Kurds

1988March - Iraq attacks Kurdish town of Halabjah with poison gas, killing thousands.1990March - Farzad Bazoft, an Iranian-born journalist with London's Observer newspaper, accused of spying on a military installation, is hanged in Baghdad.

Iraq invades Kuwait

1990- Iraq invades Kuwait, prompting what becomes known as the first Gulf War. A massive US-led military campaign forces Iraq to withdraw in February 1991.1991April - Iraq subjected to weapons inspection programme.

Rebellion

1991Mid-March/early April - Southern Shia and northern Kurdish populations - encouraged by Iraq's defeat in Kuwait - rebel, prompting a brutal crackdown.1991April - UN-approved safe-haven established in northern Iraq to protect the Kurds. Iraq ordered to end all military activity in the area.1992August - A no-fly zone, which Iraqi planes are not allowed to enter, is set up in southern Iraq, south of latitude 32 degrees north.1993June - US forces launch a cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad in retaliation for the attempted assassination of US President George Bush in Kuwait in April.

Oil-for-food

1995April - UNSC Resolution 986 allows the partial resumption of Iraq's oil exports to buy food and medicine (the "oil-for-food programme").1995October - Saddam Hussein wins a referendum allowing him to remain president for another seven years.1996August - After call for aid from KDP, Iraqi forces launch offensive into northern no-fly zone and capture Irbil.1996September - US extends northern limit of southern no-fly zone to latitude 33 degrees north, just south of Baghdad.1998October - Iraq ends cooperation with UN Special Commission to Oversee the Destruction of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (Unscom).

Operation Desert Fox

1998December - After UN staff are evacuated from Baghdad, the US and UK launch a bombing campaign, "Operation Desert Fox", to destroy Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes.1999February - Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, spiritual leader of the Shia community, is assassinated in Najaf.1999December - UNSC Resolution 1284 creates the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Unmovic) to replace Unscom. Iraq rejects the resolution.2001February - Britain, US carry out bombing raids to try to disable Iraq's air defence network. The bombings have little international support.

Weapons inspectors return

2002September - US President George W Bush tells sceptical world leaders at a UN General to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq - or stand aside as the US acts. In the same month British Prime Minister Tony Blair publishes a ''dodgy'' dossier on Iraq's military capability.2002November - UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq backed by a UN resolution which threatens serious consequences if Iraq is in "material breach" of its terms.2003March - Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reports that Iraq has accelerated its cooperation but says inspectors need more time to verify Iraq's compliance.

Saddam ousted

2003March - UK's ambassador to the UN says the diplomatic process on Iraq has ended; arms inspectors evacuate; US President George W Bush gives Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war.2003March - US-led invasion topples Saddam Hussein's government, marks start of years of violent conflict with different groups competing for power.2003July - US-appointed Governing Council meets for first time. Commander of US forces says his troops face low-intensity guerrilla-style war.Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay killed in gun battle in Mosul.

Insurgency intensifies2003August - Suicide truck bomb wrecks UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.Car bomb in Najaf kills 125 including Shia leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim.200314 December - Saddam Hussein captured in Tikrit.2004March - Suicide bombers attack Shia festival-goers in Karbala and Baghdad, killing 140 people.2004April-May - Shia militias loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr take on coalition forces.Hundreds are reported killed in fighting during the month-long US military siege of the Sunni Muslim city of Falluja.Photographic evidence emerges of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops.

Sovereignty and elections

2004June - US hands sovereignty to interim government headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.2004August - Fighting in Najaf between US forces and Shia militia of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr.2004November - Major US-led offensive against insurgents in Falluja.200530 January - Some 8 million vote in elections for a Transitional National Assembly. 2005 28 February - At least 114 people are killed by a car bomb in Hilla, south of Baghdad, in the worst single such incident since the US-led invasion.2005April - Amid escalating violence, parliament selects Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as president. Ibrahim Jaafari, a Shia, is named as prime minister.2005May onwards - Surge in car bombings, bomb explosions and shootings: Iraqi ministries put the civilian death toll for May at 672, up from 364 in April.2005June - Massoud Barzani is sworn in as regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan.2005August - Draft constitution is endorsed by Shia and Kurdish negotiators, but not by Sunni representatives.2005October - Voters approve a new constitution, which aims to create an Islamic federal democracy.2005December - Iraqis vote for the first, full-term government and parliament since the US-led invasion.

Sectarian violence

2006February onwards - A bomb attack on an important Shia shrine in Samarra unleashes a wave of sectarian violence in which hundreds of people are killed.200622 April - Newly re-elected President Talabani asks Shia compromise candidate Nouri al-Maliki to form a new government, ending months of deadlock.2006May and June - An average of more than 100 civilians per day are killed in violence in Iraq, the UN says.20067 June - Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is killed in an air strike.2006November - Iraq and Syria restore diplomatic relations after nearly a quarter century.More than 200 die in car bombings in the mostly Shia area of Sadr City in Baghdad, in the worst attack on the capital since the US-led invasion of 2003.

Saddam executed

2006December - Saddam Hussein is executed for crimes against humanity.2007January - US President Bush announces a new Iraq strategy; thousands more US troops will be dispatched to shore up security in Baghdad.UN says more than 34,000 civilians were killed in violence during 2006; the figure surpasses official Iraqi estimates threefold.2007February - A bomb in Baghdad's Sadriya market kills more than 130 people. It is the worst single bombing since 2003.2007March - Insurgents detonate three trucks with toxic chlorine gas in Falluja and Ramadi, injuring hundreds.2007April - Bombings in Baghdad kill nearly 200 people in the worst day of violence since a US-led security drive began in the capital in February.2007August - Truck and car bombs hit two villages of Yazidi Kurds, killing at least 250 people - the deadliest attack since 2003.Kurdish and Shia leaders form an alliance to support Prime Minister Maliki's government but fail to bring in Sunni leaders.

Blackwater shootings, Turkish raids

2007September - Controversy over private security contractors after Blackwater security guards allegedly fire at civilians in Baghdad, killing 17.2007October - The number of violent civilian and military deaths continues to drop, as does the frequency of rocket attacks.2007December - Britain hands over security of Basra province to Iraqi forces, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of southern Iraq.2008January - Parliament passes legislation allowing former officials from Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to public life.2008March - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits.Prime Minister Maliki orders crackdown on militia in Basra, sparking pitched battles with Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army. Hundreds are killed.2008September - US forces hand over control of the western province of Anbar - once an insurgent and Al-Qaeda stronghold - to the Iraqi government. It is the first Sunni province to be returned to to the Shia-led government.Iraqi parliament passes provincial elections law. Issue of contested city of Kirkuk is set aside so elections can go ahead elsewhere.

Security pact approved

2008November - Parliament approves a security pact with the United States under which all US troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2011.2009January - Iraq takes control of security in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone and assumes more powers over foreign troops based in the country. PM Nouri al-Maliki welcomes the move as Iraq's "day of sovereignty".2009March - US President Barack Obama announces withdrawal of most US troops by end of August 2010. Up to 50,000 of 142,000 troops now there will stay on into 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests, leaving by end of 2011.2009June - US troops withdraw from towns and cities in Iraq, six years after the invasion, having formally handed over security duties to new Iraqi forces.

New political groupings

2009July - New opposition forces make strong gains in elections to the regional parliament of Kurdistan, but the governing KDP and PUK alliance retains a reduced majority. Masoud Barzani (KDP) is re-elected in the presidential election.2009October - Two car bombs near the Green Zone in Baghdad kill at least 155 people, in Iraq's deadliest attack since April 2007.2009December - The al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq claims responsibility for suicide bombings in Baghdad that kill at least 127 people, as well as attacks in August and October that killed 240 people.Tension flares with Tehran as Iranian troops briefly occupy an oilfield in Iraqi territory.2010January - Controversy as candidates with alleged links to Baath Party are banned from March parliamentary polls. A court later lifts the ban, prompting a delay in campaigning."Chemical" Ali Hassan al-Majid, a key figure in Saddam Hussein's government, is executed.

Inconclusive elections

2010March - Parliamentary elections. Nine months pass before a new government is approved.2010August - Seven years after the US-led invasion, the last US combat brigade leaves Iraq.2010September - Syria and Iraq restore diplomatic ties a year after breaking them off.2010October - Church in Baghdad seized by militants. 52 people killed in what is described as worst single disaster to hit Iraq's Christians in modern times.2010November/December - Parliament reconvenes after long delay, re-appoints Jalal Talabani as president and Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister. A new government includes all major factions.2011January - Radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr returns after four years of self-imposed exile in Iran.2011February - Oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan resume, amid a lengthy dispute between the region and the central government over contracts with foreign firms.2011April - Army raids camp of Iranian exiles, killing 34. Government says it will shut Camp Ashraf, home to thousands of members of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran.2011August - Violence escalates, with more than 40 apparently co-ordinated nationwide attacks in one day.

US pull out

2011December - US completes troop pull-out.Unity government faces disarray. Arrest warrant issued for vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi, a leading Sunni politician. Sunni bloc boycotts parliament and cabinet.2012- Bomb and gun attacks target Shia areas throughout the year, sparking fears of a new sectarian conflict. Nearly 200 people are killed in January, more than 160 in June, 113 in a single day in July, more than 70 people in August, about 62 in attacks nationwide in September, and at least 35 before and during the Shia mourning month of Muharram in November.Nearly 200 people are killed in bombings targeting Shia Muslims in the immediate wake of the US withdrawal.2012March - Tight security for Arab League summit in Baghdad. It is the first major summit to be held in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. A wave of pre-summit attacks kills scores of people.2012April - Oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan halted amid row with central government over contracts with foreign firms.2013September - Fugitive Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi is sentenced to be hanged for murder. He sought refuge in Turkey after being accused of running death squads.2012November - Iraq cancels a $4.2bn deal to buy arms from Russia because of concerns about alleged corruption within the Iraqi government. The purchase, signed in October, would have made Russia the country's second-largest arms supplier after the US. Moscow was the main arms supplier of to Saddam Hussein.

Violence intensifies

2012December - President Jalal Talabani suffers a stroke. He undergoes treatment in Germany and makes some progress through the winter and spring.Sunni Muslims stage mass rallies across the country over several months, protesting against what they see as marginalisation by the Shia-led government.2013April - Troops storm a Sunni anti-government protest camp in Hawija near Kirkuk, leaving more than 50 dead and prompting outrage and clashes in other towns.Insurgency intensifies, with levels of violence matching those of 2008. By July the country is described as being in a full-blown sectarian war zone once again.2013July - At least 500 prisoners, mainly senior al-Qaeda members, escape from Taji and Abu Ghraib jails in a mass breakout.2013September - Mass killing at Camp Ashraf housing Iranian exiles - members of the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran.Regional parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, won comfortably by Kurdistan Democratic Party.Series of bombings hits Kurdistan capital Irbil in the first such attack since 2007. Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq says it was responding to alleged Iraqi Kurdish support for Kurds fighting jihadists in Syria.2013October - Government says October is deadliest month since April 2008, with 900 killed. By the year-end the UN estimates the 2013 death toll of civilians as 7,157 - a dramatic increase in the previous year's figure of 3,238.2013December - At least 35 people killed in twin bombing of Baghdad churches on Christmas Day.

Islamist surge

2014January - Islamist fighters infiltrate Fallujah and Ramadi after months of mounting violence in mainly-Sunni Anbar province. Government forces recapture Ramadi but face entrenched rebels in Fallujah.2014April - Prime Minister Al-Maliki's coalition wins a plurality at first parliamentary election since 2011 withdrawal of US troops, but falls short of a majority.2014June-September - Sunni rebels led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) surge out of Anbar Province to seize Iraq's second city of Mosul and other key towns. Tens of thousands flee amid atrocities. Kurdish forces, US and Iran assist government in repelling attacks, US carries out air raids. ISIS renames itself Islamic State, declares a caliphate.2014July - Kurdish Region President Massoud Barzani announces plans for an independence referendum this year, given that Iraq is "effectively partitioned".2014September - Shia politician Haider al-Abad forms a broad-based government including Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

US announces new forward strategy against Islamic State, carries out air raids in support of Iraqi Army near Baghdad. International conference in Paris, including ten Sunni Arab states but excluding Iran and Syria, agrees to support strategy. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14546763) [footnoteRef:15] [15: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14546763]

FACTS

Position and Arguments of United States and United Kingdom

During President Obamas address to the United Nation, he called for unity against the cancer of violent extremists, as pertaining to the ISIS which heidentified as a brutal and dangerous terrorist fighting. President Obama asserted thatISIS is neither Islamic nor a state -- but they absolutely act in the name of Islamand their goal is to establish and expand an Islamiststate, known as a caliphate. Obama described ISIS as those who have perverted the religion of Islam into a nightmarish vision that would divide the world into adherents and infidels.President Obama urged everyone to choose hope over fear, and that the future is not as something out of our control, but as something can be shaped for the better through concerted and collective effort. He further stated the fatalism or cynicism must be rejected when t0 comes to human affairs and that We choose to work for the world as it should be, as our children deserve it to be.[footnoteRef:16] [16: Full text of President Obamas 2014 address to the United Nations General Assembly (http://www.washingtonpost.com)]

President Obama called on the international community to join the U.S. in taking concrete steps to address the danger posed by religiously motivated fanatics by: (1) degrading and ultimately destroying the terrorist group ISIL ; (2) bringing the world, especially Muslim communities, together to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of terrorists, in part by committing to a new set of principles to reject intolerance and extremism in the education of our children; (3) addressing the cycle of conflict that createsa fertile recruiting ground for terrorists who inevitably export this violence.; and (4) ensuring that Arab and Muslim countries focus on the extraordinary potential of their people -- a chance that is possible and doesnt need to come at the expense of tradition. Obama seeks to bringpeople of different faiths together. All religions have been attacked by extremists from within at some point, and all people of faith have a responsibility to lift up the value at the heart of all great religions: Do unto thy neighbour as you would have done unto yourself.The President provided a clear sense of the priorities for American leadership from supporting Ukraine, to testing whether a nuclear deal is possible with Iran, to combating climate change and disease, to combating violent extremism. Obama asserted that "Peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of a better life. And America is prepared to take actions against immediate threats, while pursuing a world in which the need for such action is diminished.[footnoteRef:17] [17: Ibidem.]

In his speech laying out hisfour-point plan to destroy ISIS, President Obama declared that he has the "authority" to deal with the threat on his own, but would still appreciate some support from the legislative branch. "I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger," he explained.Obamas four-point plan consists of Systematic airstrikes, increased support to anti-ISIS forces on the ground who explicitly rules out any US combat troops, increased intelligence and counter-terrorism efforts to thwart ISIS' encroachment into the West, and continuedhumanitarian aid to the populations ravaged and displaced by the violence. [footnoteRef:18] [18: President Barrack Obamas Address to the Nation on September 10, 2014, (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/10/statement-president-isil-1)]

President Obama said in his Address to the Nation last 10th day of September, 2014, ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region including to the United States. And although there has been no detected plots against the United States, the leaders of ISIL has been threatening America and their allies. The US intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners, including Europeans and some Americans, have joined ISIL in Syria and Iraq. These converted foreigners have been trained and have been battle-hardened, and that these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.Obama stated that the goal was to degrade the Islamic State groups ability to operate, then eventually destroying the extremist organization, bolster out the Iraqi military and moderate Syrian rebels to allow them to reclaim territory seized by the Islamic State and cut off the groups funding and access to the global financial system.[footnoteRef:19] [19: Ibidem.]

Obama lifted the restrictions on airstrikes and vows to carry out a systematic airstrike campaign against the extremists irrespective of international borders. That will almost surely entail U.S. airstrikes in Syria.Obama stated his plans to train and arm moderate, vetted Syrian opposition fighters in Syria who oppose both the Islamic State militants and Syrian President Bashar Assads regime. The U.S. is already carrying out smaller-scale, covert operations to train and equip the rebels. But Obama wants the Pentagon to pursue a larger-scale program for which Saudi Arabia has agreed to host the training component.[footnoteRef:20] [20: Ibid.]

Obama also stated his intention to send more troops to the region to conduct airstrikes and to train and equip other forces fighting the Islamic State group. Those troops join more than 1,000 U.S. troops already in Iraq. But the U.S. says its not sending ground troops into Iraq for combat.[footnoteRef:21] [21: Ibid.]

Obama says he already has the authority to conduct military strikes under the authorization Congress granted President George W. Bush to go after terrorists in the days after 9/11. But Obama says Congress needs to authorize the train-and-equip mission for the Syrian rebels. Hes pressing for a quick vote of approval from the Congress.[footnoteRef:22] [22: Ibid.]

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated in his address to the United Nations of the horrors that Assad has inflicted on his people, whereby schools used as torture centers, and children as target practice. Cameron told a story of a 16 year old Syrian called Wael who was detained in a police station in Deraa who said: I have seen children slaughtered. No, I do not think I will ever be ok againIf there was even 1% of humanity in the world, this would not happen.[footnoteRef:23] [23: British Prime Minister David Camerons address to the United Nations (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-camerons-address-to-the-united-nations-general-assembly)]

Cameron tells the United Nations that the blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the groups reputation, and in particular, a stain on those who have failed to stand up to these atrocities and in some cases aided and abetted Assads regime of terror. Cameron further stated that if the United Nations Charter has any value in the modern times,it must now join together to support a rapid political transition and not just turn a deaf ear to the voices of people suffering. It is the responsibility of the Security Council Members to support for the UN appeal for Syria.[footnoteRef:24] [24: British Prime Minister David Camerons address to the United Nations.]

Cameron said that Islam is a great religion, and that it is observed peacefully and devoutly by over a billion people, but Islamist extremism is a warped political ideology supported by a minority that seeks to hijack a great religion to gain respectability for its violent objectives.And Cameron stressed that it is vital that a distinction be made. In Turkey, its government is of roots of Islamic values, but with democratic politics, an open economy and a responsible attitude to supporting change in Libya, Syria and elsewhere in the region. Cameron believes the same path is open to Egypt, Tunisia and their neighbours. And that other countriesmust help them take it. Cameron said that Democracy and Islam can flourish alongside each other.[footnoteRef:25] [25: Ibidem.]

Cameron said in an interview that "We cannot turn our backs on the world. When our values are threatened, we must have the confidence to stand firm," he insisted. And he gave salutations to the armed forces who are putting themselves in harm's way in the interest of the nation. ISIS must and can be driven out of Iraq so we are backing the coalition's strikes.[footnoteRef:26] [26: British Prime Minister David Cameron in the Conservative Party Conference, (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/14468-david-cameron-isis-fighters-are-an-enemy-of-the-uk)]

Whereby, US President Barrack Obamas stand is to use force to control the morbid acts of the Islamist extremist and thus protecting the innocent people who are not part of the fanaticism, and British Prime Minister David Cameron supports the United States in their conquest to help the people burdened by such violence and spilling of blood.

POSITION OF IRAN

The President of Iran gave his speech at the UN General Assembly last 24 September, 2014, stating his position regarding the plans of military intervention led by United States of America to fight terrorism in Syria and as well as in Iraq. This is the abstract or the summary of President Hasan Rouhanis speech on the said Assembly.On the first part of Iranian President Hasan Rouhanis speech, he serves as the voice of the unheard, echoing the fear of the people towards war and its deplorable aftermath. Pointing out the issue of peoples aporetic perception to religious and ethnic confrontation and thereby reminding about his hopes for peace and his opposition to war. Stating Iran as an example of achieving peace through rationality and moderation as exemplified in their elections; despite the disputes and instabilities, a peaceful resolution was thereby established creating a safe environment. The President further pointed out that unwanted consequences might transpire due to miscalculation of actions in procuring war to obtain peace. Relating back to history and insisting that the age old reliance to military and violent means is over, and such expediency is only a way to preserve the old superiority and domination of those who rely with such archaic method.

Despite the express opposition of President Rouhani to the planned US military intervention, he expresses his deep indignance to terrorism and its inhumanity and the effects as well. The president believes that such intervention has no legal basis that it is really not to be considered an intervention but rather an attack. His opposition are leaning towards welfare of the people, the innocent civilians that are everyday suffering from the harsh effects of violence. He believes that it is not violence that defeats violence. That as much as terrorism is needs to be castigated, the violence and extreme actions that aim to combat terrorism should be condemned as well.

Lastly, President Rouhani reminded everyone in the Assembly that, military option has always been served on the table and it did not give them the result they were aiming for so He encouraged everyone by stating that:

xxx that peace is within reach. So, in the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran I propose, as a starting step, the consideration by the United Nations of the project: the World AgainstViolence and Extremism. (WAVE) Let us all join this WAVE. I invite all states, international organizations and civil institutions to undertake a new effort to guide the world in this direction.

We should start thinking about Coalition for Enduring Peace all across the globe instead of the ineffective Coalitions for War in various parts of the world. xxx [footnoteRef:27] [27: Full text of Hasan Rouhani's speech at the UN | The Times of Israelhttp://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-hasan-rouhanis-speech-at-the-un/#ixzz3Efm8z6D1]

The President of Iran then, ended his speech quoting from the Holy Quran.

CONCLUSION

The main issue of this research is whether the proposition of the United States of the America for military intervention in Syria has a legal basis. Now that the United Kingdom authorized airborne strike in Iraq, the government insists such action is legal because Iraq's government has requested international help to tackle the Sunni extremist group, which has overrun vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and massacred religious minorities and Shia Muslims.[footnoteRef:28] But how about the plan on attacking Syria, it has not expressly consented to military operations against Isis on its territory nor has any state engaging in the operations offered consent as their legal basis for action,[footnoteRef:29] nor With Russia and China opposed, the UN Security Council will not give its backing.[footnoteRef:30] [28: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/26/world/europe/uk-parliament-iraq-isis/] [29: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/06/legal-basis-war-isis-syria-islamic-state] [30: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-23847169]

However the US availed on Article 51 of the UN Charter[footnoteRef:31] which states: [31: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-syria-strikes-and-international-law-2014-9]

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.[footnoteRef:32] [32: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_16937.htm]

The wordings in Article 51 are very clear, as it provides that the right to self-defence only applicable if an armed attack occurs. This has precluded any attempts to justify the so-called pre-emptive strike or anticipatory self-defence.[footnoteRef:33] In the case of Advisory Opinion on the Palestinian Wall, the I.C.J held that the State which invokes the right to self-defence has the burden of proof to show that there is in fact situation of armed attack occurring against it, at the very time where the right of self-defence is being invoked by that State.[footnoteRef:34] [33: Mohammad Naqib Ishan Jan, Use of Force in International Law, CLJ Publication 2011, pp. 132] [34: Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004, ICJ Rep (2004), at 136.]

The same line of endorsement can also be seen in the Case Concerning Oil Platforms where it was held that if the State can prove the existence of armed attack occurring at the time it invokes the right to self-defence, whether in response to armed attacks initiated by regular military forces of other sovereign States, or by non-State actors acting on behalf of that other State, then the State can legitimately rely on Article 51.[footnoteRef:35] [35: Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), Judgment, I. C. J. Reports 2003, p. 161.]

There have yet no reports of armed attacks in the US itself, only to US citizen who were abducted and persecuted in Syria at that time. These killings may result to breach or violation of international crime on crimes against humanity, but such actions are not enough to bring about the right of self-defence provided in Article 51 UN charter.

Also, the exercise of right to self-defence must be reported to the U.N.S.C as soon as possible in accordance with Article 51 of the U.N Charter. The article provides that the Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council. Prof. Christine Gray wrote that given that the UN Charter aims not only to limit, but also to centralize, the use of force under UN control, it seems clear that the intention [of reporting to the U.N.S.C] was to give the Security Council the right to decide measures terminating the right to self-defence.[footnoteRef:36] Many other international scholars agreed with this proposition.[footnoteRef:37] As of now, China and Russia is not backing up US and UK, having lost. [36: Christine Gray, note 89 at 98; Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto, Walking an International Law Tightrope: Use of Military Force to Counter Terrorism--Willing the Ends, 31 Brook. J. INT'L L. 405, 431-33 (2006), at 414-16.] [37: Abram Chayes, The Use of Force in the Persian Gulf, in Law and Force in the New International Order (Lori F. Damrosch & David J. Scheffer eds., 1991), at 5; Thomas M. Franck & Faiza Patel, UN Police Action in Lieu of War: The Old Order Changeth, 85 Am. J. Int'l L. 63,72 (1991) at 63.]

The target group of the military intervention is the ISIS, a terrorist group that emerged in Iraq and Syria. It should be noted however, that there is an absence of a general definition of terrorism in international law, and such absence give difficulties to criminalise terrorism per se as an international crime. Even where a state acts unlawfully, including attacking civilians and/ or creating and spreading terror, such acts are generally considered as breaches of international humanitarian law but not acts that ought to be labelled as terrorists within the international legal discourse. From the perspective of international criminal law and its basic and non-derogable principles, the core requirements are clear: the principle of legality, nullum crimen nullum poena sine lege, has to be satised.[footnoteRef:38] In other words, as there isno crime without law, it isconsequently not possible to talk about the suppression of a criminal act bythe exercise of criminal jurisdiction if the act in question is not properly dened.[footnoteRef:39] [38: Bassiouni, C. Introduction to International Criminal Law (New York: Transnational Publishers, 2003) . p.63] [39: Kold, R. The exercise of Criminal Jurisdiction over International Terrorists in A. Bianchi Ed., Enforcing International Law Norms against Terrorism (Oxford: Hart Publishing 2004) 227-281, p.227]

Therefore, as of now, it is evident that there is no clear legal basis yet for the military intervention led by the United States. With no permission from Damascus neither from the United Nations Council as to allow said intervention, such might constitute as an attack or a military conflict, breaching treatise on war. Unlawful actions made by ISIS do not yet fall squarely on the requirements that would give merits for military action by other states, but such unlawful actions are enough to be violative of other international crimes or treatise, however, their violation cannot be regarded as legal basis for any intervention.