Could ISIS’s next caliphate be in cyberspace?
Following a wave of devastating attacks aimed at terrorizing and paralyzing the Western world during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan , July has ushered in a series of landmark counterterrorism victories in the fight against ISIS. Iraqi Security Forces liberated Mosul, the largest city under ISIS control, and a Syrian militia infiltrated the Old City of Raqqa, the capital of ISIS’s so-called Islamic State. Not only has the caliphate been decimated, but the caliph himself may also have been eliminated; the Syrian Observatory claims it has “confirmed information” that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. The Pentagon has yet to corroborate this statement, and Western and Iraqi officials remain skeptical, but the mere allegation of al-Baghdadi’s downfall lends strength to the counter-ISIS campaign. This string of counterterrorism triumphs has inspired many to caution against excess optimism that prematurely celebrates victory and risks blinding the West to the “ever-evol