The US Invasion Of Iraq & The Rise Of ISIS.

On 19 March 2003, the United States of America, along with the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland, invaded Iraq, on the pretext that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. As President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on May 1, the invasion of Iraq went from being an operation for the liberation of the Iraqi populace from the tyranny of Saddam Hussain, to an illegal occupation by an outside military force, which caused not only tumult across the region, but also helped in creating one of the largest terrorist organizations ever seen, the Islamic State.

When the United States toppled Saddam Hussain’s Sunni dictatorship, it also disbanded the Iraqi Army, a decision that has been widely criticized by diplomats, researchers and historians. This caused a huge number of Iraqi men to become unemployed. They were well-trained and had combat experience. Later on, due to brutal oppression and incidents that amount to war crimes, including but not limited to the torture of prisoners, including Iraqi civilians, at the Abu Ghraib detention camp and the Hamdania incident, by the occupying United States forces, these men would become part of the Sunni insurgency that was rapidly growing in Iraq. This insurgency attacked Shiite areas and caused a sectarian conflict between the Sunnis and Shiites, with militias from both sides using inhumane means to reach their objectives. The United States’ detention centers in Iraq, such as Camp Bucca, helped in the spread of violent ideologies and indoctrination of ordinary Iraqis. The incarceration also provided for the assimilation of ex-soldiers and terrorists, who would later join ISIS and other terrorist organizations. A large number of detainees at Bucca went in as moderate Iraqi citizens and ex-servicemen disgruntled with the disbanding of the army, and emerged as followers of extremist ideologies. Images of the horrific torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib by Americans were often used by ISIS as a recruiting tactic. These pictures featured in propaganda posters and videos, seeking to incite anti-American sentiment in prospective recruits, and thus prompt them to join the organization. Among the detainees at American detainment facilities was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), whose actions widened the split between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite populations, due to his group’s attacks on Shiites. He was earlier sympathetic to the Chechen cause and wanted to fight against the Russians, but became staunchly anti-American after the bombing of Kabul. It was AQI that first conducted suicide bombings on American troops stationed in Iraq. It was this group which later became known as ISIS. Even Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS, was incarcerated at these camps, which have often been called as “factories” of terrorists. He was originally a mosque cleric, and is claimed to have been radicalized further in the company of Al Qaeda commanders at Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca. Indeed, it was the US intervention in the Middle East that turned these two from ordinary people and small-time criminals to infamous terror icons.

The American invasion and occupation of Iraq and subsequent policy blunders led to the rise of ISIS, and it can very well be said that it might not have existed, or at least not had been as vicious as it became, had US policymakers exercised restraint and used diplomacy and peacebuilding measures instead of invading and occupying Iraq. It was the 2003 invasion of Iraq which caused not only the Shia-Sunni sectarian conflict in Iraq, but also led to the rise of insurgency in the nation. Even today, the United States of America indirectly supports the Islamic State. As Hillary Clinton’s leaked emails show, American allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar are at the forefront of the nations facilitating the transfer of funds into the hands of extremists which include the Islamic State, and the US administration was, and is aware of it. The USA constantly refuses to help those who can help in the fight against insurgents and terrorist organizations in the Middle East, and supports those who play an active role in supporting these entities.

“Suicide terrorism is mainly a response to foreign occupation .” — Robert A. Pape