This report analyzes the offensive in northern and central Iraq led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, aka ISIS) -- a Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group -- with a discussion of the offensive's implications, the U.S. response, and related issues.

This report discusses executive authority to authorize force in the crisis involving the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS), which raised significant concerns for the United States.

This report provides background and current information on the Islamic State, a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that has expanded its control over areas of northwestern Iraq and northeastern Syria since 2013. The report also examines possible U.S. policy options in the wake of increasing international outrage at the Islamic States' brutality and apparent disregard for typical human rights conventions.

This report briefly discusses the Islamic State's (IS, or alternatively, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, or Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS) kidnapping of American citizens and the implications for congressional response.

This report addresses select legal questions raised by the use of military force against Islamic State (IS). Questions addressed in this report include potential sources (and limitations) of presidential authority to use military force against the Islamic State without congressional authorization; the potential relevance of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq (2002 Iraq AUMF; P.L. 107-243) and the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001 AUMF; P.L. 107-40); the applicability of the United Nations Charter to ongoing U.S. military strikes in Iraq and any prospective strikes against IS forces in Syria; and the constraints imposed by the War Powers Resolution upon U.S. military action that has not been authorized by Congress.

This report briefly discusses different options available for confronting the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) with the use of military force. The examines the legal considerations relevant to each approach.

This report discusses the armed offensive militants of the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) in northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria that has raised significant concerns for the United States.

This report discusses the problems facing Iraq as the Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS) gains power in the region. IS is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that has expanded its control over areas of northwestern Iraq and northeastern Syria since 2013, threatening the security of both countries and drawing increased attention from the international community. The Islamic State has thrived in the disaffected Sunni Muslim-inhabited areas of Iraq and in the remote provinces of Syria torn by the civil war. The Islamic State's tactics have drawn the ire of the international community, increasing U.S. attention on Iraq's political problems and on the civil war in Syria.

This report discusses the concerns for the Middle Eastern governments and the United States regarding the armed offensive of the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) in northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria.