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The Man Who Could Have Stopped the Islamic State
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The Man Who Could Have Stopped the Islamic State

Brian Fishman
Foreign Policy, 2016
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8

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Recommendation

How did the arrest of al-Qaeda operative Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi in 2006 help the spread of Islamic State’s brand of jihad? In this compelling article, Facebook counterterrorism policy manager Brian Fishman charts Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi’s history with ISIS founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, explains how the split between al-Qaeda and its former ally developed, and explores the question of how Abd al-Hadi’s arrest may have helped to enable ISIS’s proliferation. getAbstract recommends this article to those with an interest in the roots of contemporary Middle Eastern politics.

Take-Aways

  • Turkish police arrested al-Qaeda operative Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi in 2006 while he was in transit to meet the “Jordanian godfather of Islamic State” Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
  • Abd al-Hadi had been a soldier in the Iraqi army and used that training to help shape al-Qaeda’s military strategy in Iraq. He also played a role in linking al-Qaeda with Zarqawi.
  • Abd al-Hadi and Zarqawi began to diverge in 2004: Abd al-Hadi didn’t agree with Zarqawi’s plan to “incite a sectarian bloodletting.”

About the Author

Brian Fishman is lead policy manager of counterterrorism at Facebook and the author of The Master Plan: ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory.

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