Of course, a distinction can be drawn between the actual founding of ISIS and its rise to the murderous, land-holding terror force that it is today. So how did ISIS begin and evolve? Here's a refresher:
It sprang from al Qaeda in Iraq
The group's roots are in the Sunni terror group al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), started in 2004 by Jordanian Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It was a major player in the insurgency against the US-led forces that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, and against the Shiite-dominated government that eventually replaced Hussein.
ISIS has also targeted the Shiite community in general, starting with a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque in Samarra in 2006.
Hussein had led a secular government, but it was dominated by members of Iraq's Sunni minority and it brutally repressed opposition. When Saddam was ousted, power went to the majority Shiites, who wanted revenge.
There was a growing perception among Sunnis that they were being persecuted and excluded from power by Shiite officials.
AQI recruited Sunni fighters to its cause -- trying to establish a Sunni Isla
Of course, a distinction can be drawn between the actual founding of ISIS and its rise to the murderous, land-holding terror force that it is today. So how did ISIS begin and evolve? Here's a refresher:
It sprang from al Qaeda in Iraq
The group's roots are in the Sunni terror group al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), started in 2004 by Jordanian Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It was a major player in the insurgency against the US-led forces that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, and against the Shiite-dominated government that eventually replaced Hussein.
ISIS has also targeted the Shiite community in general, starting with a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque in Samarra in 2006.
Hussein had led a secular government, but it was dominated by members of Iraq's Sunni minority and it brutally repressed opposition. When Saddam was ousted, power went to the majority Shiites, who wanted revenge.
There was a growing perception among Sunnis that they were being persecuted and excluded from power by Shiite officials.
AQI recruited Sunni fighters to its cause -- trying to establish a Sunni Islamist control of the country.
World would have been much better with Hussein in place.
If Lincoln hadn't been elected president, the Civil War probably would not have occurred, there would have been so many lives saved. The country could have peacefully split in two. The world would have been "better."
The world would have been better and so many lives saved if we had left Hitler alone to fight Stalin. They could have kept each other in check, limited Soviet world domination and influence, allowed Hillary to become president. But we decided to intervene. Better off doing nothing, as you say. The world would be better off.