The US-Led War On ISIS Now Has A Logo

The US once appeared hesitant to brand the coalition effort against ISIS, only revealing the name of the operation nearly two months after bombing began.

But Operation Inherent Resolve is now in its fourth month, and policymakers seem to realize that they need to put a public face on a campaign that isn't going to be over any time soon.

First, the coalition established a Joint Task Force with its own logo, which can be seen at right. The Task Force was set up by US Central Command to coordinate efforts against ISIS, and is "comprised of US military forces and personnel from more than 30 countries," according to a December 8 press release. It had its first "coalition integration conference" during the first week of December.

Military iconography is rife with images of an olive wreath enclosing swords - the Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese and Australian military all use version of the image, as does the US's Judge Advocate General Corps. But with the pair of scimitars the insignia most closely resembles that of Saudi Arabia's interior ministry (Saudi Arabia is part of the anti-ISIS coalition and has aided in operations in Iraq).

Meanwhile, a Twitter profile claiming to be "the official Twitter account of the international coalition for Operation Inherent Resolve" appeared on December 8th, not long after the Task Force was officially announced. While the account has not yet been verified, its second tweet contained a bureaucratic clarification, noting that the Task Force will now handle public affairs related to the mission, and not the Tampa-based US Central Command.

Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve replaces USCENTCOM as public affairs release authority. #Iraq #Syria

- U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 5, 2014