Extremist Migration: A Foreign Jihadist Fighter Threat Assessment

Military action by the U.S. Army and its partners resulting in the reduction in territory controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) does not mean that the threat from foreign jihadist fighters has been extinguished. At the end of any conflict surviving foreign fighters are likely to disperse in numerous directions. The question is where they are likely to go and whether and how they will re-emerge as a threat to the U.S. Army and the United States as well as Western interests more broadly. In order to be able to tackle the threat effectively the U.S. Army must be able to frame the right questions seek the answers to those questions and address the issues highlighted. The inability to do so will negatively affect existing and future U.S. Army operations as well as U.S. interests both at home and abroad.