A Rogue State Along Two Rivers

Sources: Caerus Associates, Congressional Research Service, Institute for the Study of War, Long War Journal, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

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The militant group called the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria seemed to surprise many American and Iraqi officials with the recent gains it made in its violent campaign to create a new religious state. But the victories achieved in the past few weeks were built on months of maneuvering along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which define a region known as the cradle of civilization.

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