VICE News
How the US Created the Islamic State: Talking Heads
2014 • E212 Dec 2, 2014 12m
In this episode of Talking Heads, Mark Danner discusses his essay "Iraq: The New War." Danner wrote this essay in mid-2003, outlining how American policy during the Iraq war effectively helped incite in many ways what was then an emerging insurgency. The occupation of Iraq post-9/11 created a broad front to which militant jihadists began to flock. The mishandling of the Iraqi army sent thousands of highly-trained, angry men into the streets with no jobs. And photos of Iraqis being tortured by American personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison provided telegenic images that helped these groups recruit from an increasingly indignant public.