In a recent VICE News interview, President Barack Obama blamed the existence of ISIS
on the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Yet former President George W. Bush claimed that terrorist groups around the world (quote)
“hate us for our freedom”.
So we want to know does the U.S. create terrorists?
Well, when comparing the ten year periods before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq,
the Global Terrorism Database reports that roughly 21,000 terrorist incidents occurred
between 1993-2003.
In the years following the invasion, that number more than doubled.
So, why are the numbers increasing?
Some conservative sources have blamed a weak foreign policy and political infighting for
this massive increase.
However one political scientist has attributed 95% of suicide attacks in recent years to
foreign occupation.
And a 2004 government study concluded that the invasion has quote “paradoxically elevated
the stature of and support for radical Islamists.”
A former CIA interrogator wrote that the number one recruitment tool used by terrorist groups,
was knowledge of US torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
A government report supports the accusation that torture policies damaged the accuracy
of any intelligence collected, and “strengthened the hand of our enemies“.
Additionally, there is evidence that drone strikes have also lead to an increase in anti-American
radicalism.
As it turns out, this isn’t a new phenomenon.
Back in the 1950’s, the CIA coined the term “blowback” to describe the unintended
negative side effects of overthrowing a middle eastern regime.
Today, numerous studies and comments from several politicians have supported the idea
that the US-led intervention in the Middle East is the primary motivation for anti-American
terrorism.
You probably know that the US is an incredibly powerful country...
but what about its weaknesses?
Here’s our video.
You can
see that full video at the link in the description.
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