„IS is in many respects a project of Saddam Hussein’s now-outlawed Baath Party, but with a different ideology. Former agents or officers of the former Iraqi president’s regime dominate its leadership. … The ex-Baathists shape the group’s jihadist ideology, handle its security (weeding out infiltrators or possible putschists) and military operations, and ensure its resilience.

They represent a battle-hardened and state-educated core that would likely endure (as they have done through US occupation and a decade of war) even if the organisation’s middle and lower cadres are decimated. Ex-Baathists have established an underground network, whose operatives are often disguised, even from other members.“ (Die Autoren des Buchs „ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror“ Hassan Hassan und Michael Weiss auf der Website der BBC: „Islamic State: An invincible force?“)