Report: Iraqi officer under Saddam masterminded rise of ISIS

[EC]

Former colonel described as being "bitter and unemployed" after US authorities in Iraq disbanded the army by decree in 2003.

BERLIN - A former intelligence officer for the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was the mastermind behind Islamic State's takeover of northern Syria, according to a report by Der Spiegel that is based on documents uncovered by the German magazine.

Spiegel, in a lengthy story published at the weekend and entitled "Secret Files Reveal the Structure of Islamic State", says it gained access to 31 pages of handwritten charts, lists and schedules which amount to a blueprint for the establishment of a caliphate in Syria.

The documents were the work of a man identified by the magazine as Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, a former colonel in the intelligence service of Saddam Hussein's air defense force, who went by the pseudonym Haji Bakr.

Spiegel says the files suggest that the takeover of northern Syria was part of a meticulous plan overseen by Haji Bakr using techniques -- including surveillance, espionage, murder and kidnapping -- honed in the security apparatus of Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi national was reportedly killed in a firefight with Syrian rebels in January 2014, but not before he had helped secure swathes of Syria, which in turn strengthened Islamic State's position in neighboring Iraq.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Iraqi-officer-under-Saddam-masterminded-rise-of-ISIS-398585

No real surprise here, but it's nice to have confirmation.

[alicewonders]

Okay, saying this is all or partly true - that this guy masterminded these ISIS strategies - who is financing it? 

And also, my sense in seeing a few of these story lines lately about ISIS being created after George W Bush's toppling of Saddam Hussein from ex-Iraqi Ba'athists is that this gives Obama & Co another excuse to blame the creation of ISIS on Bush.  Bush's fault.

These stories may be true, or they may have a grain of truth to them, but it's the pattern of them coming out now that raises red flags in my conspiracist mind and gut.  What do you all think?

 

[EC]

The timing thing is interesting and - indeed - to a certain extent it is the truth that ISIS is a Bush creation. It was an inevitable side effect of the disbanding of most of the Iraqi military that some of them would loot, hide for a while, then return when the time was ripe. If they hadn't been disbanded, you'd most likely be looking at a military dictatorship in Iraq by now - the guy here certainly fits the profile for fomenting a coup - intelligent, knows how the pieces go together, a Colonel (nearly every coup in history has been lead by one - it's the mix of ambition and rank low enough to make the risk worth while) and with a grudge.

As for the seed funding to get them going - who better to know where a highly corrupt regime hid it's cash than a former intelligence officer? For a parallel example, think Putin. He didn't ride to power on his charm.

[alicewonders]

The timing thing is interesting and - indeed - to a certain extent it is the truth that ISIS is a Bush creation. It was an inevitable side effect of the disbanding of most of the Iraqi military that some of them would loot, hide for a while, then return when the time was ripe. If they hadn't been disbanded, you'd most likely be looking at a military dictatorship in Iraq by now - the guy here certainly fits the profile for fomenting a coup - intelligent, knows how the pieces go together, a Colonel (nearly every coup in history has been lead by one - it's the mix of ambition and rank low enough to make the risk worth while) and with a grudge.

As for the seed funding to get them going - who better to know where a highly corrupt regime hid it's cash than a former intelligence officer? For a parallel example, think Putin. He didn't ride to power on his charm.

Thanks EC, I hadn't thought about the Saddam treasure chest.

 

[truth_seeker]

Okay, saying this is all or partly true - that this guy masterminded these ISIS strategies - who is financing it? 

And also, my sense in seeing a few of these story lines lately about ISIS being created after George W Bush's toppling of Saddam Hussein from ex-Iraqi Ba'athists is that this gives Obama & Co another excuse to blame the creation of ISIS on Bush.  Bush's fault.

These stories may be true, or they may have a grain of truth to them, but it's the pattern of them coming out now that raises red flags in my conspiracist mind and gut.  What do you all think?

The German magazine "Der Spiegel" has no reason to be an instrument of international political propaganda.

It has a long and well earned reputation as a top tier investigative news organ.

Lesen sie, bitte:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Spiegel