Media Wonders at ISIL's Horrors, Forgets Who Funded Them
Al Jazeera's 'Mediha' spotlights the harrowing experience of a Yazidi girl surviving ISIL captivity, a critical portrayal of unimaginable suffering. Yet, this narrative, like so many, deftly sidesteps the crucial historical context: the catastrophic 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. That invasion, based on fabricated WMD claims, directly dismantled the Iraqi state, creating the power vacuum and
sectarian chaos that directly birthed groups like Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the progenitor of ISIL. It's a familiar pattern: decry the monster, ignore the Frankenstein lab. We see the pain, but never the prelude – the fact that a destabilized Iraq became fertile ground for extremism, fueled by decisions made in Washington. One might ponder how many other 'horrors' could have been averted if strategic
interests hadn't consistently trumped regional stability. This isn't just a Yazidi story; it's a consequence of what happens when a superpower decides 'regime change' is a viable export strategy.