Who are the founders of ISIS? We all are.
Aug 17, 2016

Last week, Donald Trump repeatedly declared that Barrack Obama and Hilary Clinton are the “co-founders” of ISIS, and the U.S. news cycle predictably clicked into a familiar pattern. Fact-check. Feature Trump supporter-explainers like Rudy Giuliani. Denounce yet more defensive posturing from Trump, all while lavishing on him the attention they claim not to want to provide. Repeat.

But pausing that for a moment, let’s use this as a chance to explore the question of ISIS’ founding more seriously.

Now the tragic phenomenon of ISIS is complex. Grasping it requires a deep understanding of the region it is concentrated in, as well as a nuanced approach to global politics and power. Yes, clearly, the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 triggered a series of catastrophic events, most crucially the sectarianization of Iraqi society, which is intimately tied to the formation of ISIS.

It is also true that Syria’s Bashar al-Asad released hundreds of right-wing Islamist fighters from prisons in 2011, which fed into the ISIS phenomenon. Then when it began gaining territory, Asad actively avoided fighting it, in a clear attempt to focus his fire on the original mass-based, democratic opposition to his regime, and to convince the world that it was either him or the terrorists.

Read more from the source: Medium