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1-Page Summary of Black Flags

Overview

The Middle East is the site of complex conflicts that have been going on for decades. This region has presented a new kind of evil to the world, which even al-Qaeda considers too extreme. How did such an extremist group come into existence? The ideology behind this group was Salafi Jihadism, which can be traced back to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement in the 1950s. However, political repression and imprisonment meant that today’s militants bear little resemblance to their moderate predecessors who sought change through democratic means.

This passage explains why ISIS was created. It goes into detail about how the US-led invasion of Iraq led to the birth of this terrorist group, as well as other factors that contributed to its creation.

Big Idea #1: ISIS can be traced back to the release of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from a Jordanian prison in 1999.

Have you heard the name Zarqawi? This al-Qaeda leader shaped recent history. He was born in 1966 in the city of Zarqa, Jordan, earning him the name “al-Zarqawi,” or “the one from Zarqa.” The vicious terrorist network that he went on to lead would eventually form ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), after a complicated journey that begins with his involvement with another group called Jamaat al-Tawhid wal Jihad.

Zarqawi was influenced by the war in Afghanistan during the 1980s. He and others were arrested for possessing illegal weapons that they intended to use against Israel.

However, prison didn’t weaken Zarqawi’s resolve to fight. Rather than spending his time with common criminals, he spent it studying the Koran and learning more about Islamism. Then King Abdullah II of Jordan released him from jail in 1999 because he wanted to improve relations between the government and political factions.

The king realized that it was time to make peace with the Islamists, so he offered them a gift: the release of 16 prisoners. Little did he know that while in prison, Zarqawi had become like a father figure for those around him. When they were released from prison, these men would unquestioningly follow Zarqawi’s commands.

Big Idea #2: Following his release from prison, Zarqawi formed a series of terrorist training camps.

Al-Zarqawi was released from prison in Jordan and immediately went to the airport. He told officers that he was going to Pakistan for honeybees, but they didn’t believe him because he had been lying before. Because of this, they let him go. In actuality, al-Qaeda put him in charge of a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Upon arrival, Zarqawi met Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was initially reluctant to meet with him because he doubted his trustworthiness. Eventually, however, he realized that Zarqawi could help extend al-Qaeda’s reach into Jordan and let him run a training camp for Jordanian volunteers.

However, that changed when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Zarqawi’s men needed a safe haven, and northeastern Iraq was the best choice because it provided an ideal place to train for attacks.

Zarqawi went to work building a terrorist network after he arrived in Iraq. He soon came up on the radar of senior Bush administration officials, who were concerned about his involvement in the assassination of an American diplomat.

Zarqawi was able to unite with Iraqi terrorists in order to form a miniature theocracy. However, the United States knew where this terrorist camp was and recommended bombing it. The Bush administration feared that an early strike could set things off before they were ready for war with Iraq, so they decided against striking Zarqawi’s terror camp. This hesitation cost them a golden opportunity to eliminate him from the picture before he became more powerful.