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Weakened Militarily, ISIS Still Has Power to Sow Deadly Mayhem
(New York Times) Robert F. Worth - In the past year, even while under near continuous bombardment, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for more than three dozen attacks in 16 countries on four continents. "ISIS' claim to represent the caliphate has clearly been a trump card," said Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. "It stirs deep sentiments...about a utopian and powerful Muslim empire." Many young Islamic State converts are genuinely thrilled to be taking part in a venture that aims to redraw the map and reverse the moral polarities of what they see as a fallen world. "Once it loses its territory, ISIS will become another lost jihadist cause," Haykel said. "Al-Qaeda has the advantage of being an ideology that is not tied to a territory or an institution like the caliphate."