ISIS. Probably the most controversial aspect of geopolitics and world news of the 21st century, this organization spread fear and caused world wide sensation starting in 2014, but lately it seems that people had forgotten the black flag responsible for not only the live television decapitations that every one had once seen on their favorite news station but also terror attacks on US soil. So what did happen to the Islamic State?

How it all Started

Without going into too much detail about the creation of the organization, some background is necessary. ISIS found its origins in the ruins of the organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks that had shaken the country, Al-Qaeda.

The Islamic state then gained world wide recognition after its releasing of the beheading of journalists and its very quick blitz of the Middle East. At one point ISIS had controlled territory in multiple countries and had even engulfed most of Syria and even Iraq, the country we had invaded and occupied in 2003.

The War with ISIS

Since then, the US and Iraq had conducted relentless airstrikes devastating the organization in the aftermath of their tear through the region. But one very important factor that isn’t discussed about the situation is the involvement of other factions in the destruction of the Islamic State. Syria is also a victim to the rule of ISIS and because of their close relations to Russia, Russia had also conducted an extremely devastating air campaign against the terrorist organization. The American backed Free Syrian Army, another warring faction in the Syrian civil war had also accomplished great strides.

The US and Russia had both worked to destroy ISIS but not together. Because of the tense relations, the two behemoths had conducted separate campaigns in fighting ISIS. Although this had been a great show of cooperation between the two nations, there have been rising tensions over airspace and even possible support for ISIS. With the two US missile strikes in Syria against the government and covert arming of Anti government factions in Syria, Russia and its allies have pointed fingers at possible collusion between the US and ISIS. The Russians on the other hand attack US backed factions in Syria who also fight ISIS.

Although ISIS is significantly weaker than it was years ago, it still remains a massive threat to world peace, and with tensions between Russia and the United States boiling over the region, ISIS may not be the biggest issues we will see in our lifetime.