In this series, Geopoliticalmonitor.com analyzes political fallout from the global plunge in oil prices. Part four focuses on Islamic State and Iraq.

There are two takeaways for US policymakers from the Iraqi army’s advance towards Tikrit. One is encouraging, and the other is not.

The case of “Jihadi John” shows that the threat of radicalization is a global one.

Had Bashar al-Assad gone into exile, the ISIS Caliphate would be based in Damascus rather than the middle of nowhere.

His jihadist career has taken on nearly mythical dimensions. According to some reports, he is the mastermind behind Islamic State media operations. According to another, he was recently the target of a “honey-trap” set by a female FBI agent sent to Syria in order to extract information from him.

The brutal killing of Lieutenant Moath Youssef al-Kasasbeh has united much of Jordan, but the Kingdom faces great risks in an extended campaign against Islamic State.

Neither conservatives nor liberals have got it totally right in the post-Charlie Hebdo editorial space.

To truly understand the rise of Islamic State we must look back at the historical origins of its doctrine.

With all eyes on Kobane, the Turkish government decided to launch on attack not on the Islamic State fighters besieging the town, but the Kurds desperate to defend it.

The Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain-al-Arab, has been the site of fierce fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamic State (ISIS) for over three weeks. Some have even come to see it as a crucible for President Obama’s military strategy, arguing that if ISIS can still make territorial gains despite US air strikes, the chances for total victory over Islamic State are pretty bleak.