Why Are We So Confused About ISIS?

“The chaos that we’re seeing in Iraq and Syria is the direct result of half a century of U.S. military interventions and covert operations in the Middle East.”

It’s an assertion very difficult to argue, as the Pontiac Tribune author, Tony Geren suggests. Over the years, the U.S.-supported and CIA financed jihad (the Mujahideen) has successfully driven out the Soviets, but with the consequence of an oppressive Taliban, and Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

The CNN was told by Zbigniew Brzezinski early in the year that the U.S. literally created Al Qaeda in the 1970s for the proxy fight against the Soviets, with Hilary Clinton admitting likewise.

The numerous name changes don’t help to simplify the path of Islamic State (ISIS), and where they originated from. Once known as Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād, the group changed to Tanẓīm Qāʻidat al-Jihād fī Bilād al-Rāfidayn in 2004 after Osama Bin Laden gained their allegiance. At this point they were known as ‘Al Qaeda of Iraq.’

Then the following changes occurred:

2004: Al Qaeda of Iraq

2006: Islamic State of Iraq

2013: When they expanded into Syria – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) / Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

2014: A new caliphate is declared in June – Islamic State

What most don’t associate directly (most likely due to numerous name changes), is the association of rebel forces funded by the U.S to topple regimes they didn’t agree with.

The Libyan revolution was one such battle. NATO involvement was framed as essential for humanitarian aid; portraying the crises as an extension of the Arab Spring. The CIA actively supported Libyan rebels to overthrow the Gaddafi regime – later admitted by Libyan leader Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi that they were Al-Qaeda [of Iraq] linked jihadists who had fought against allied troops in Iraq.

Libyan leader Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi

The NATO and the U.S. are repeating history by funding the Syrian ‘moderate’ rebels since 2011. The consequences created a vacuum of power for ISIS, and Al-Nursa, to occupy with a brutal strength that has so far, significantly impacted the destabilization of the region.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), – the U.S. backed moderates – have stated numerously that they carry out joint operations with Al-Qaeda and affiliates. However, last year Al-Qaeda stepped away from ISIS’ brutality; hence, ISIS is now a splinter group.

Further Defense Department funding has continued over the course. $38 billion dollars was scheduled in 2014 to train and equip Syrian rebels for the fight against Islamic State, and to deploy 1,000 boots-on-ground U.S. troops to deploy this task.

The chaotic tensions are mounting as the scrambling to control the situation unfolds. Is there a person in the world who hasn’t discussed the possibility of World War 3 if we can’t find a measure to de-escalate? U.S. foreign policy is navigating the global community towards a major military conflict. Geren suggests “the people of this country are going to have to take their power back, and they’re going to have to do it without asking for permission.” Or, he concludes, the U.S. could stop funding and arming Syrian rebels.

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