Striking Back at The Islamic State’s Foreign Fighter Pipeline
Striking Back at The Islamic State’s Foreign Fighter Pipeline
Author: Benjamin Bahney, Patrick B. Johnston and Howard J. Shatz
In March, the terrorist group known as the Islamic State struck in the heart of Europe for the second time in six months. The attack in Brussels caught European security forces flat footed; even though there were indications that attackers—who were trained in Syria—were poised to strike.
The Islamic State’s core in Iraq and Syria is now under intense pressure. It is time for the campaign against it to put increased attention on countering the group’s pipeline for international terrorism -- the fighters who might return to threaten their home countries. The group has generated a heightened terrorist threat to the West and to all the countries from which its members come due to its ability to vet and train the 30,000 or so foreign fighters who have travelled to Iraq and Syria, and to redeploy them to their home countries. The current threat might at least equal what al Qaida could muster at its peak.
Competing proposals from U.S. politicians to commit thousands of U.S. ground troops to Iraq and Syria, or to vigorously police and patrol Muslim communities in the West simply do not address the Islamic State’s ability to infiltrate the group’s trained foreign fighters back into their home countries. Targeting training camps in Islamic State territory, as well as monitoring and detecting the group’s returnees from Syria, are increasingly needed to address this threat.
CIRSD and NGIC Coorganize a High-Level Conference at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
Vienna, October 21, 2025 — The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) and the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC), convened a high-level international conference titled “Shifting Grounds: The Caucasus, Central Asia and Europe in a New Global Order”, in partnership with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.
Read more
Vuk Jeremić Addresses the China Institute’s Thinkers Forum on the Future of the World Order
Shanghai, October 2025 — President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) Vuk Jeremić, took part in the Thinkers Forum organized by the China Institute, marking the jubilee 10th anniversary of this distinguished institution.
Read more
Kazakhstan Will be an Enduring Geopolitical Convergence Point
As the history of humanity repeatedly demonstrates, being blessed with geography alone is no guarantee of long-term survival, let alone tangible influence. Instead, one’s ability to use geography as leverage for far-reaching strategy is what separates the survivors from those that stay on the margins.
Read more
Horizons Discussion in Belgrade Explores Europe’s Future with Zachary Karabell
Belgrade, September 29, 2025 — The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) hosted another edition of its renowned Horizons Discussions series, featuring Zachary Karabell, prominent American author, investor, and founder of The Progress Network, in conversation with Vuk Jeremić, CIRSD President and former President of the UN General Assembly.
Read more