ISIS fighters are motivated by wider political battles between Saudi Arabia and the West

The Islamic State's drive primarily based on its opposition to Western involvement in Saudi Arabia and the greater Middle East. With its large oil reserves, Saudi Arabia has kept a close relationship with the West. The political nature of ISIS is also based on the effects of the United States March 2003 invasion of Iraq. The US occupational authority dissolved the Sunni majority Iraqi military by decree in May, leaving thousands of Sunni officers unemployed, alienated, and enraged.^[1] The Islamic State's political nature is also reflected in their goal of generating hostility between Muslim populations across the world and the broader communities they live in.^[2] This strategy is what some analysts have compared to Maoist revolutionary insurgency doctrine, forcing Islamic communities across the globe to pick a side and become more inclined to join the struggle.^[3]

[P1] Many Muslims believe there has been a disastrous history of Western involvement in the Middle East.