Publication

This paper examines al-Qaeda’s “management” of the Iraqi tribal system during the Iraq War, most notably after the US-led surge in 2007, and the insights it provides on possibly degrading the effectiveness of the so-called Islamic State (IS). More specifically, the text’s author looks at 1) how al-Qaeda first co-opted local support for itself and then undermined it through a series of strategic errors; 2) how the US gradually managed to capitalize on these errors; and 3) how tribal dynamics might be used to undermine present-day support for IS.