At a time when the Obama administration says the Islamic State is shrinking in Syria and Iraq, the terrorist group is publishing a detailed organization map that it says shows how it is running a functional bureaucratic nation-state.
The 15-minute video, produced by its media company Al-Furqan, sets out a list of committees, government departments and local province councils — a chain of command that carries out orders from reclusive “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He is the only leader identified in the video released Wednesday, perhaps because the U.S.-led bombing campaign is getting better at finding and killing Islamic State commanders.
If it is to be believed, the video says the Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, is conducting the business of state, functions such as education and health care, amid constant coalition bombing. It says its so-called caliphate, or Islamic nation, has “outlined the path of salvation and triumph for the Muslim generations,” according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors jihadi social media.
“It’s acting as if it has a future it intends to bring to fruition,” said retired Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, who commanded troops in Iraq. “The war is far from over, and those who are in the all-we-have-to-do-is-take-territory-from-IS-and-they’ll-fold camp will be disappointed.”
The Al-Furqan video was sent over the messaging app Telegram, a favorite of the Islamic State because it can encrypt content, thus avoiding National Security Agency spies.
MEMRI said the Islamic State posted the video on the San Francisco-based digital library Internet Archive, one of al-Baghdadi’s most-used platforms.
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The Islamic State is a habitual user of social media platforms and apps as a way to spread propaganda, attract fighters and provide guidance on terrorist attacks.
Its bureaucracy works this way: Al-Baghdadi’s most senior government bodies are the Shura Council and the Delegated Committee, which runs virtually all operations. His specific tasks, the video says, are to spread Islam, prepare its armies, set out “hudud” or Koranic punishment, defend the Syria/Iraq homeland and fortify its defenses.
The Pentagon estimates that 20,000 foreign fighters are in al-Baghdadi’s army, a decrease of about one-third since the U.S.-led coalition bombing began in August 2014. But at the same time, the Islamic State has spread globally. It has established irregular terrorist armies in six nations outside Syria and Iraq — Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
The Delegated Committee is charged with carrying out al-Baghdadi’s orders and overseeing each of the 35 provinces that the group claims to control in Syria, Iraq and other countries. Each province is run by a “wali,” or governor, appointed by al-Baghdadi. The governors, in turn, refer major decisions to the Delegated Committee.
Under this powerful committee are 14 government departments. These include Judgment and Grievances; the “Hisba,” or religious policing; Treasury; Education; and Health.
The Delegated Committee also oversees smaller councils that specialize in core issues, such as the “Hijra” panel that is involved in bringing recruits into the Islamic State.
There is also a committee that deals with the families of martyrs (suicide bombers) and works for the freedom of Muslims imprisoned around the world.
In Raqqa, Syria, the Islamic State’s proclaimed capital, there is an office that conducts relations with the group’s franchises and cells outside of Syria and Iraq. Another office conducts liaison with Sunni tribal chiefs.
“I would say that the video comes as a direct response to worldwide media attention, and to statements by the U.S. and other Western governments that ISIS is under massive pressure and losing territory, and that the caliphate has begun to crumble,” said Steve Stalinsky, MEMRI’s executive director. “It is aimed at highlighting how successful the group has been in creating a state, and it lists all the elements it has established as part of that state.”
Mr. Stalinsky said Al-Furqan is the Islamic State’s flagship media operation and is reserved for the group’s most important messages and speakers, such as top spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.
The same day the Islamic State released its government site map, the U.S. military continued to paint an optimistic picture of the battle in Syria and Iraq.
Army Col. Christopher Garver, the top military spokesman in Baghdad, told Pentagon reporters that Fallujah, west of Baghdad, is fully liberated, meaning Islamic State fighters no longer have uninterrupted access from that city to the Syrian border.
“We defeated Daesh in Fallujah,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group.
Col. Garver said Syria Democratic Forces and Syrian Arab Forces, the groups backed by U.S. weapons and special operations advisers, have taken over 600 miles of territory from the Islamic State, supported by 325 airstrikes, since operations began May 21 to capture the Syrian city of Manbij.
“We’ve seen Daesh fighters leaving these previously defended towns to attempt to reinforce Manbij,” Col. Garver said. “As the pressure increases against Daesh in Manbij, they are demonstrating more desperation to keep Daesh strategic crossroads open for access outside Syria.”
He said a separate operation aimed at destroying the Islamic State’s economic vitality has reduced its take from black market oil from $30 million a month to $15 million.
The U.S. allies have seized “multiple villages,” he said. But he gave no indication that the force is prepared to attack Raqqa. He said a Syrian government force moved close to the city in central Syria but was beaten back by al-Baghdadi’s men.
Mr. Dubik, the retired Army general, explained the war and the Islamic State’s need for a government this way: “There’s no doubting that IS had lost important territory. And there’s no doubting IS retains territory and is expanding in a variety of ways, which requires a governing structure. Additionally, if those who have taken territory from IS can’t hold it, IS is poised to return.”
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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