Small Wars Journal

Islamic State Fast Becoming a 'Legitimate' State, Says Leading Military Voice

Thu, 05/21/2015 - 12:09am

Islamic State Fast Becoming a 'Legitimate' State, Says Leading Military Voice by Jake Bourke, 3AW Drive

The war on Islamic State will only get worse before it gets better, says one of the world's leading military strategists.

Australian David Kilcullen, who now lives in America as an international military strategist and counterinsurgency expert, joined Tom Elliott to discuss the chaos in the Middle East.

Mr Kilcullen said ISIS, which continues to carve out significant territory across Iraq and Syria, was fast becoming a "legitimate" state and was undoubtedly on the rise.

"It has a government, it has a territory, it controls a population about the size of Norway or Singapore and has a pretty functioning economy," he said on 3AW Drive…

Read on.