Nowadays, our most important topic of discussion is ISIL, with its new name: The Islamic State organization. When The Taliban crossed swords with the United States in Afghanistan, Turkiye and world public opinion had knew this organization. Photos of women with burkas and Islamists who cut arm were served to all media organizations. Today, we are experiencing a similar period. Photos of the Islamic State organization that makes massacres and cut heads, are discussed on the news every day. So, the United States and the Islamic State have separated their ways.
The factual background with news and images delivered to the public are often not compatible. Osama Bin Laden was one of the young people, trained by the CIA, from Laden Family which is rich and modern. He was the most important person who was responsible for providing financial and logistic to the Islamist organizations in the afghan resistance against the Soviet occupation.
During this period, Hizb Islami and Jamiati Islami were the most important allies with the united states in Afghanistan. Mujahideen who won the war and defeated the Russians, parted ways with the United States following the collapse of the Soviet Union. More precisely, the United States became friend with Pashtuns that was the largest ethnic group, to seize all of Afghanistan. Madrasas in Pakistan were first training centers for students of Pashtuns that is Taliban. Thusly, Taliban seized Afghanistan with the support of the United States in a short time. Unfortunately, The oil pipeline agreement between the Taliban and UNOCAL which funds some large operations of the United States, failed.
Thereupon, the United States again called on Osama Bin Laden. In 1998, the Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Laden declared the Great Jihad against the United States and West. On September 11, 2001, a major attack was carried out on the Twin Towers. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban were blamed for this attack. The United States invaded Afghanistan to eliminate this threat.
Since that years, the threat of Al Qaeda emerged in all regions where the United States wanted to establish military dominance such as Sudan and Yemen, the Gulf, Turkiye and some European countries. In the same way, the United States firstly created Saddam Threat, later it invaded Iraq, to intervene against this threat. Throughout the 2000s, Al Qaeda was always a reason for the military presence of the United States.
Meanwhile, the Russian Intelligence Service, SVR was not idle. It connected with some Al Qaeda groups in the world, as it was after the defeat in Afghanistan, the Russia had collected Mujahedeen groups such as Hizb Islami and Jamiati Islami. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s second leader, previously was one of the Islamist groups, pro-Russian, in Egypt. SVR has established close relationships with Zawahiri. Al Qaeda groups who organized among Sunnis controlled by the SVR. They fought against the United States after the occupation. The most important of these groups was Tawhid and Jihad organization which was established by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in 2004. After Al-Zarqawi killing with the United States’ operation in 2006 (with the implicit approval of Russian intelligence Service), Iraqi Al Qaeda lapsed into silence. The Russia and the United States entered a race to make friends with Maliki’s government.
When Iraq was occupied, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was a cleric at a mosque in Samarra. He had a PhD from Islam University of Baghdad. He was held at Camp Bucca as a “civilian internee” by the United States Army from February until December 2004. All information about Baghdadi between 2005 to 2009 almost was hidden by the United States government. There was the information that he was at Camp Bucca in these years according to some newspaper reports. Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi gave important information about Sunni Islamist groups for CIA and occasionally worked as a consultant. He was trained in Jordan and the United States.
The United States was looking for someone who can heir Osama Bin Laden. This name was Baghdadi. Indeed, David Ignatius had stated purpose of these old in the Washington Post as follows: “The true heir to Osama bin Laden may be ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is “more violent, more virulent, more anti-American” than Zawahiri, the official says.”
The legendary Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was retired in a mysterious way with an operation conducted on 2 May 2011. Laden was living a big house in AbbotAbat city in where were Military Academy and Intelligence Service Units in Pakistan. In the operation which was participated by about 79 Special Warfare Soldiers (DEVGRU / SEAL Team Six), 22 Special Soldier (11+11) in two Black Hawk helicopters, an Afghan interpreter and a dog raided Laden’s house. There were 17 people, as men, women and children, in the house. It was reported that Laden, three men and a woman were killed. Then it was announced that Osama Bin Laden’s body was thrown into the ocean.
When Laden’s death photos, which were designed in Photoshop, published, big discussions had emerged. The real photos about Osama Bin Laden’s death which can eliminate doubts not published until today. How interestingly, 22 Special Warfare Soldiers, performed this operation, died in a helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan after three months, on 6 August 2011. This incident, died 31 soldiers which was the biggest lost for the United States in a day, in Afghanistan. In this way, Osama Bin Laden File was closed.
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi whom the United States sees as the true heir to Osama Bin Laden, had set up his Al Qaeda group at the Camp Bucca. In 2006, all Al Qaeda militants with together 4.500 prisoners were transferred to Abu Ghraib prison, under the control of Maliki’s government. Baghdadi continued to remain in control of the United States Army. It is announced that he was released in 2009. He became the Emir of the Islamic State of Iraq organization on 16 May 2010.
In the past year, on 21 July 2011, about one thousand Al Qaeda militants managed to escape from the Abu Ghraib prison. They gathered around their Imam Al Baghdadi under the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Levant (ISID or ISIL) and began attacks to capturing Mosul.
In the escape Al Qaeda militants from Abu Ghraib and in the reorganization at the Sunni region were an important role the Russian Intelligence Service, SVR. Al Baghdadi who firstly established good relations with the United States, had been recruited by the SVR. The Russians opened Al Baghdadi’s way, on the one hand to fight against the United States’ allies, on the other hand to pose a threat as show Assad Management as innocent.
As of today, the Islamic State organization, led by Al Baghdadi, has 70 – 80 thousand armed militants. The most important part of these militants is from the Syrian and Iraqi Sunnis and the others are Al Qaeda sympathizers who came from world countries. A part of Al Qaeda militants who participated outside are serving in conjunction with the intelligence services. There are among these Islamist groups from Turkiye, chemical weapons experts associated with Germany (BND), special warfare elements connected with MI-6 from Jordan opposition camps, Asian descents under the control of the Russian SVR and Islamists linked with Chinese Intelligence Service (MSS). Carrying out the violent events such as cutting off the heads of people by these groups are emphasized by independent sources.
The Sunni Arabs who hold a very large area in Iraq and Syria have also military forces more powerful than the Islamic State. Old Baathist soldiers directed by former Saddam’s commanders and provided the logistic support by SVR, are more trained and professionals. These groups have several heavy weapons, tanks and rockets, acquired from Syrian and Iraqi Army. This group who is moving deliberate and planned, actually stands apart from the armed struggle.
In short, each country is trying to use this Islamist Threat in Iraq and Syria for their own interests. Although Iraqi Al Qaeda fights against the United States’ friends, It constitutes an important reason to be permanent of the presence of the United States in region. What is certain is that Iraq and Syria will be worse than Afghanistan for the United States and its allies.
