ISIS strengthens its hold on Libyan port of Sirte
The mainstream press seems to be waking up to what is happening in Libya, as ISIS continues to strengthen its principal beach-head at Sirte (which the New York Times calls Surt in the attached article). There are thought to be about 2,000 ISIS fighters in the area, the group being almost entirely foreign at this stage with main positions of authority occupied by senior ISIS members drafted from Syria.

MUSIC <SOT: OBAMA> “ISIS is a terrorist organization.” ISIS, ISIL, I-S, DAESH —- THESE NAMES ALL REFER TO THE SAME MILITANT GROUP — THE ISLAMIC STATE. CALL THEM WHAT YOU WANT, BUT BY SUMMER 2014, THEY WERE KNOWN WORLDWIDE. SOT: OBAMA: “These terrorists are desperate for legitimacy ... especially their attempt to use Islam to justify their violence.” MUSIC HEADLINE: The Story of ISIS Nats of ISIS THEY DEFY THE STEREOTYPE OF SCATTERED TERRORISTS HIDING IN CAVES. PARTS OF ISIS ARE ORGANIZED LIKE A LIGHT ARMY, OTHERS AS SOPHISTICATED TERRORIST CELLS. IT’S ALL AIMED TOWARDS ONE GOAL: TO REDRAW THE MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST BY CREATING A NEW STATE — AN ISLAMIC STATE. <SOT of jihadist> “We will break the barrier of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, all the countries.” SO HOW DID THIS ACTUALLY HAPPEN? HOW DID A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION END UP IN CONTROL OF MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF TERRITORY ACROSS SYRIA AND IRAQ? THIS - IS THE STORY OF ISIS. HOW THEY BUILT A 21ST-CENTURY TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, MADE IT SELF-FINANCING, AND HOW THEY ARE NOW EVOLVING UNDER A NEW SET OF CHALLENGES. MUSIC CHANGE TO MARK TRANSITION ISIS EMERGED IN PART FROM THE ASHES OF AL QAEDA IN IRAQ. ITS LEADER IS ABU BAKR AL-BAGHDADI, AN IRAQI PREACHER WHO FOUGHT IN THE INSURGENCY. IN 2004, HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE U-S BUT WAS CONSIDERED INSIGNIFICANT ENOUGH THAT THEY RELEASED HIM. Nats of Baghdadi appearance BAGHDADI LED HIS GROUP TO SYRIA WHERE THEY ESTABLISHED A STRONGHOLD. AMID THE CHAOS OF THE CIVIL WAR — ISIS SOON BECAME THE MOST POWERFUL TERRORIST FACTION. NAT OF ISIS patrolling Raqqa THE SYRIAN CITY OF RAQQA BECAME THE GROUP’S CAPITAL BY MID-2013. THERE, THEY INSTITUTED REAL GOVERNANCE: ESTABLISHING SHARIAH COURTS, TAKING OVER ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS, EVEN PUTTING UP STREET SIGNS. NAT OF ISIS patrolling Raqqa - directing traffic or whatnot TO SUPPORT THIS GROWING INFRASTRUCTURE, THEY FOCUS ON FINANCES: TAKING CONTROL OF OIL RESOURCES AND BECOMING SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPERS. THEY HAVE SECURED MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RANSOMS FROM MANY WESTERN COUNTRIES. ON THE BATTLEGROUND, THEY ARE MORE PROFESSIONALIZED THAN MOST OF THEIR COMPETITORS. ISIS’S RANKS INCLUDED MANY OFFICERS - AS WELL AS SOLDIERS - FROM SADDAM HUSSEIN’S ARMY WHO DRAW ON DECADES OF MILITARY EXPERIENCE. Nats of drones ANOTHER DISTINCTIVE ADVANTAGE IS HOW ISIS USES TECHNOLOGY TO WOO FIGHTERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD - AND IN MANY LANGUAGES. RECRUITMENT VIDEO IN ENGLISH THEY ARE STRATEGIC ONLINE, USING FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND YOUTUBE. THEY RELEASED VIDEOS FEATURING A CAPTURED BRITISH JOURNALIST HOSTING SLICKLY-PRODUCED “TALKS” TRYING TO CONVINCE WESTERN AUDIENCES ON THE MERITS OF JIHAD. Sot from Cantlie tapes “Over the next few programs, I’m going to show you the truth.” THIS KIND OF PROPAGANDA IS WORKING. ISIS NOW BOASTS ABOUT 3,000 FOREIGN FIGHTERS FROM 80 COUNTRIES <SOT: ISIS canadian from video - “I was like any other regular Canadian. I watched hockey.” MUSIC TRANSITION NATS OF BIG EXPLOSION FROM THE FIGHTING IN MOSUL UPON THEIR RETURN TO IRAQ IN JUNE 2014, THEIR FIRST MAJOR MILITARY VICTORY WAS THE FALL OF THE COUNTRY’S 2ND LARGEST CITY — MOSUL. IT SHOCKED THE WORLD. SOT: From Reuters, Arabic, (Arabic) MAN FLEEING FROM MOSUL, NIBHAN JASSIM, SAYING: “People are in the streets, and people are lying dead on the streets. THEN THE MILITANTS QUICKLY SEIZED MORE IRAQI TOWNS, ENCROACHING ON BAGHDAD. Soundbite from Baghdad resident “The security situation is deteriorating.” A SECOND HIGH-PROFILE MOMENT WAS THE FORCIBLE EXPULSION OF THE YAZIDIS — A RELIGIOUS MINORITY IN IRAQ. SOME WERE KILLED AND MORE THAN 30,000 WERE FORCED TO FLEE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. SOUNDBITE (English) Will Parks, UNICEF Chief Field Officer: “50-thousand people we estimate, are stuck in the mountains at this time ... [BUTT SOTS] They’re sleeping out in the open, they’ve got no food, no water, no medical supplies.” ANOTHER KEY TO THEIR EXPANSION IS SHEER BRUTALITY. THERE ARE THE MASS EXECUTIONS AND UNMARKED GRAVES OF MOSTLY FELLOW MUSLIMS. MANY REPORTS OF RAPE AND OF WOMEN BEING SOLD ALSO CONTINUE TO SURFACE. NATS FROM “SLAVE MARKET DAY” selling of Yazidi girls ISIS’S BRUTAL TACTICS - WITH REGULAR BEHEADINGS AND THE KILLINGS OF CIVILIANS - WAS EVEN CRITICIZED BY AL-QAEDA’S LEADERSHIP, WHICH FORMALLY SEVERED TIES IN FEBRUARY 2014. MUSIC CHANGE TO SIGNAL TRANSITION Natpop of us airstrikes BUT SINCE AUGUST 2014, RESISTANCE TO ISIS GREW. FIRST, THEY WERE DEALT A SIGNIFICANT BLOW ONLINE. NATS OF ISIS ON YOUTUBE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES — NOW MORE ADEPT AT SPOTTING ISIS’S VIDEOS — TAKE THEM DOWN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. Nats of missiles launching SECOND, ON THE MILITARY FRONT, AN INTERNATIONAL AIRSTRIKE CAMPAIGN HAS SLOWED THE GROUP’S ADVANCE. SOT FROM OBAMA ON AIRSTRIKES. 4:45 “American forces will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.” PRESIDENT OBAMA DEPLOYED MORE NON-COMBAT TROOPS TO IRAQ IN EARLY NOVEMBER. Nats of missile strikes AND IN SYRIA - WHERE THE HEADQUARTERS REMAIN - AIRSTRIKES HAVE DESTROYED MANY OIL REFINERIES. NOW, INSTEAD OF STORMING INTO TOWNS WITH A SHOW OF BRAVADO, ISIS FIGHTERS MOVE IN SMALL GROUPS AND RELY ON SLEEPER CELLS. NATS OF Iraqi tribes FINALLY, A TURNING POINT CAME FROM SOME LOCAL TRIBES, VILLAGERS AND IRAQI TROOPS- WHO ARE BANDING TOGETHER TO PUSH THE GROUP BACK. NATS OF FIGHTING ISIS’S MOMENTUM HAS STALLED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE LAST SUMMER, BUT THEY REMAIN IN CONTROL OF LARGE SWATHS OF TERRITORY. THEY’VE KEPT THE WORLD’S ATTENTION LARGELY THROUGH A STEADY STREAM OF INCREASINGLY SHOCKING VIDEOS AS WELL AS INSPIRING VIOLENCE WORLDWIDE. <SOT: Coulibady> “You attack the Islamic state, we are attacking you.” BUT NOW — UNDER SO MUCH CONTINUED PRESSURE — THE QUESTION IS, HOW WILL ISIS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE? ENDIT