The Scientific Review of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service

After the victory over the terrorist ISIS in 2017, Iraq has great experience in the field of combating terrorism, which depends on the nature of dealing with terrorist groups and aims to adopt new techniques and methodologies based on preventing terrorist acts and deterring terrorist operations. The Iraqi counter-terrorism strategy 2021-2025 was one of the most important strategies that relied on the principle of prevention and prevention in combating terrorism. Then came the combat doctrine that laid new scientific foundations in the field of the war on terrorism.

The phenomenon of terrorist misuse of the Internet has become a very significant threat to the security of countries and international security. The research importance stems from the following: Iraq’s suffering from this cross-border phenomenon, and its negative impact on its national security. Learn about the role of the United Nations in preventing the dangers of this emerging technological security challenge, which has become a serious global issue.This research aims to do the following: attract the attention of decision-makers in Iraq towards the negative effects resulting from the phenomenon of terrorists’ misuse of the Internet in their terrorist acts, and its various security and political repercussions. He urged the concerned authorities to strengthen their capabilities in the field of information technology, and to focus on the opportunities available on the Internet to track terrorists, including collecting information and evidence about terrorists and prosecuting them in accordance with national and international law.The problem of the research lies in the absence of a global agreement or special national legislation that regulates procedures to combat the phenomenon of terrorist use of the Internet, hold them accountable, prosecute and punish them, and ultimately eliminate them. This leads to an exacerbation of its security risks at the national, regional and global levels, especially since it is a cross-border phenomenon. The lack of legislation specific to this phenomenon, sufficient technical capabilities, and appropriate law enforcement means in Iraq exacerbates the risks of terrorist organizations to its security, complicates measures to combat it, and increases the time required to end it.

The Iraqi university professor constitutes the backbone of the educational and pedagogical process in Iraqi universities, institutes and academic institutions. Based on the slogan that “the university is in the service of society”, the Iraqi university professor will be responsible for contributing to plans and strategies employed to combat all reprehensible phenomena that target the foundations and pillars of Iraqi national security, including the phenomenon of “extremism”, especially in Iraq. He can employ the digital revolution to exploit his capabilities, academic, research and even teaching experience in employing the Internet in the process of counter-attacking all violent and extremist ideas that incite sectarian and ethnic strife, and giving electronic lectures through “chat rooms”, “electronic forums” and “Facebook” pages available on social media to raise awareness of the dangers of extremism and its repercussions on peaceful coexistence, especially in the areas where the terrorist organization ISIS was present between the years ((2014-2017)), especially the province of ((Nineveh)), the city of ((Mosul)) and its outskirts, not to mention writing articles, research and studies that address the causes, methods and repercussions of extremism on national unity. And societal, especially since social media has become a focus of interest and use among young people and teenagers, who were among the groups targeted by the terrorist organization ISIS to win them over to the takfiri organization.

The spread of the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism in Anbar Governorate is linked to political, social, cultural and religious motives and causes, resulting from the political and military developments of the American occupation of Iraq in the year 2003 AD, and what resulted from the atmosphere of political and security instability in the region after the Arab Spring revolutions, which had a motivating and supporting role for the social, political and religious motives. Due to the spread of the ISIS phenomenon in Anbar Governorate.

Extremism is a pattern of abnormal and undisciplined thinking, which leads its followers to believe that they are the only ones on the right, and alone possess the absolute truth, and that others should obey them in their ideas and beliefs, and because the Iraqi society is a coexistent society that has not been accustomed to extremism before, especially intellectual and religious, and does not accept it. Therefore, extremists resorted to terrorist action to impose this imported intellectual and behavioral pattern on the Iraqi individual and society. Iraq has paid a heavy price in confronting extremism and its terrorist methods, especially after the year 2014. Therefore, extremist thought must be confronted and prevented from returning to terrorizing Iraqis again, and the task of confronting this is The danger falls on everyone, especially the media, which bears the task of protecting society and Iraqi public opinion and fortifying it against extremism that leads to violent terrorist behavior, by raising awareness of the dangers of this destructive intellectual and behavioral pattern, explaining its methods of deception, ways to confront it, and addressing the causes that help its spread. , including destitution, poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and economic, social and political crises.

The emergence of ISIS in Iraq posed an unprecedented challenge to military and strategic planning to address and confront ISIS terrorism, which took civilians as hostages to confront the Iraqi military forces. Efforts were focused on following a top-down approach with a clear preference for urgent and strict security interventions in combating terrorism. Adding a technical security character to dealing with this dangerous issue. This approach has proven successful, culminating in the liberation of the occupied areas from ISIS gangs while preserving the lives and property of civilians.

Intellectual terrorism is a dangerous phenomenon faced by Iraqi universities, as some platforms are exploited to promote extremist ideas and distort religious and cultural concepts, which threatens the stability of society and sows the seeds of division and violence. Universities must spread awareness of the importance of national identity among university students, and clarify their role in building a strong and prosperous society. In addition to teaching national history and culture to university students, to enhance their sense of belonging to the homeland and its heritage. The school curricula suffer from a lack of materials that promote critical thinking and logical analysis, which makes students vulnerable to being influenced by extremist ideas, in addition to the lack of a culture of dialogue and free discussion, which creates a closed environment that prepares the spread of extremist ideas without discussion or criticism, and one of the most important points that is addressed is It is the exploitation of politics by political parties to achieve special agendas, which exacerbates the severity of the problem, taking advantage of the weak financial income of university youth, which makes this group of society more vulnerable to terrorist political exploitation. That is, the form of terrorism has several facets, not only at the level of religious extremist terrorism. The role of The financial income of university students makes them more vulnerable to all aspects of terrorism.

The ability and power of major and regional powers are not only measured by their economic and military capabilities, but also by their technological strength and the immunity of their cyber system. Thus, the existence of an integrated and secure national cyberspace structure is one of the most important possible factors for growth and prosperity. However, the expansion of the use of technology opens new horizons for cyber terrorist risks and threats. This requires strengthening and combating cyber terrorism by providing protection for networks, technical systems, information, operational technology systems, and their hardware and software components, as well as protecting the services they provide and the data they contain from any penetration, disruption, modification, entry, use, or exploitation within the framework of the digital space.
The forms and images of the phenomenon of international terrorism, and its danger has increased steadily with the information revolution and technological development in the field of manufacturing computers and electronic devices, the development of communication networks, so communication methods have become, roads have become, and it is possible to destroy the structures of countries without firing a bullet through terrorist organizations’ use of cyberspace terrorists.
Some complex programs, and then the actions of terrorists became. In addition, cyberspace has become an important attraction for armed and terrorist organizations of all kinds and differing ideas. Given the global means it provides, it is at the same time a dangerous weapon, and ISIS is the most threatening organization that uses the Internet; They are used to advertise, recruit, finance, gather information, and coordinate cyber-attacks.

Today, humanity in general and the Islamic nation in particular are being ravaged by a series of crises that have directed and reshaped the current reality. They are not limited to traditional crises such as unemployment, poverty, disease, and ignorance. Rather, crises have been generated, some of which were an evolutionary product of the traditional ones, or a new product dictated by the nature of the radical transformations that the world has witnessed. Which requires an unprecedented alert to address it because it has led to changes that threaten the economic, social, security, psychological, and social aspects, and has formed signs of danger and disasters that threaten the fate of all humanity. Perhaps the most dangerous of these crises is the phenomenon of extremism leading to terrorism, and the information revolution and communication technologies have greatly affected how The connection of countries and societies with each other, which has disturbed decision-making centers at the international and national levels, occupied academic elites and religious figures, and placed them on the cusp of embarrassment, tension, and crossroads.

Consequently, the use of cyberspace by terrorist organizations and extremist groups has increased, as extremists and terrorists employ the Internet for the same reasons and in the same way that we all use the Internet, for marketing communications, control and surveillance, collecting intelligence information and analyzing data, which necessitated the mobilization of comprehensive, integrated and unconventional national and local efforts. This terrible phenomenon.

In the summer of 2016, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt wrote an article in Foreign Affairs, “The Case for Offshore Balancing: A Better US Strategy.” They criticized the setbacks caused by the misguided and costly grand strategies of liberal hegemony pursued for years by both Democrats and Republicans. These grand strategies espouse an approach whereby the United States bears responsibility not only for solving global problems but also for promoting a global order based on international institutions, representative governments, open markets, and respect for human rights. They therefore proposed a new strategy that would mitigate the cost of liberal hegemony. They called it “offshore balancing.” Washington would abandon ambitious efforts to reshape other societies, which would drain American power, and focus on the issues of real importance: maintaining American hegemony in the Western Hemisphere and countering potential hegemony in Europe, Northeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf. Instead of watching the world, the United States will encourage other countries to take the initiative in curbing rising powers, and intervene only when necessary ( ). When the sources of American decline became clear, which were identified by two of the most important theorists of international relations in the United States; in order not to exhaust American power by straying too far in the context of imposing hegemony around the world in a way that exhausts all its available capabilities, and also in order to maintain its relative primacy for the longest possible period of time; because “abandoning the strategy of off-field balancing is a true recipe for failure,” according to the two writers, which necessarily requires recalling the idea that they were an early awareness of the danger resulting from the reality of the American decline from its description as a single pole to a position in which it may be equal to one or more other rising global powers, as well as sharing the costs with regional parties, which necessarily means partial concessions at the level of the hierarchy within the international system.

Given the world's crowding in all technical and artistic fields, the development of modern technology, and the great qualitative leaps in these directions, it has become clear that the modern era is the era in which the world has changed in many of its events, especially the military and the development of research accompanying this change. Since we are talking about fighters, we must examine many aspects of this category, which is considered one of the most important foundations of every country and one of its necessities, especially the process of arming, readiness, and keeping pace with modernity and development. We must point out that this specificity comes from the door of the state's national security and how to maintain civil peace with the presence of these fighters. They must exist under a specific name, for example (army - special forces - special operations - police - commandos) and many other names. Each of these forces is distinguished by some features. Since we are talking about fighters, we will talk here about fighters in combat military classes due to their contact with terrorism and terrorists, engaging in battles, the psychological effects that accompany these forces in battle conditions, the extent of their readiness, and studying the pressures they go through.