Iraq's ISIS Detainee Trials: The West's Convenient Amnesia on Its Own Role
📰 THE STORY: Al-Monitor reports that Iraq is prosecuting ISIS detainees transferred from Syria, highlighting ongoing 'security concerns' and humanitarian issues for families, presenting it largely as an Iraqi domestic legal and security challenge. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: ISIS did not materialize in a vacuum. Its precursor, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, emerged directly after the
2003 US invasion of Iraq, which destabilized the state, disbanded the Iraqi army, and created a power vacuum exploited by extremist groups. The "Islamic State" itself was largely a product of the Syrian proxy war, where Western powers, Gulf states, and Turkey funneled arms and aid to various 'rebel' groups, some of which merged with or were indistinguishable from jihadists. The 2011 NATO
intervention in Libya, which destroyed Africa's most prosperous nation, also contributed to regional instability and arms proliferation that fed groups like ISIS. Double Standard: Western media rarely scrutinizes the prosecution or accountability of former US or UK officials responsible for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its disastrous aftermath, which created the conditions for ISIS to thrive. Nor
do they focus on the rehabilitation or sentencing of Western foreign fighters who joined ISIS, often allowing them to return home with comparatively lighter sentences than Iraqis face. The focus is squarely on Iraq's 'security concerns' without reflecting on the West's primary role in manufacturing those concerns. Follow the Money: The military-industrial complex was a primary beneficiary of the