9781422277171

I t seems as if they came out of nowhere. It’s June 2014, and a terrorist group based in Iraq blitzes across Syria and Iraq to the gates of Baghdad. They drive in tan Toyota trucks with a black flag waving. The terrorists capture large portions of eastern Syria, and northern and western Iraq. The Iraq War, which had begun in 2003 with a US-led invasion, is supposed to be over. But now a new battle in this volatile region is underway. Hundreds of thousands of people who supported Iraq’s brutal dictator, Saddam Hus- sein, are angry. Saddam is dead and they have no jobs. They are penniless. Many had been imprisoned by the Americans, and became radicalized . They are filled with hate. Hate for the United States and its allies. Hate for the West- ern world. Hate for those who are not like them. They are Muslims, but they M ission B riefing

Words To Understand

destabilized cause unrest heretic a person who has differences with a religious teaching jihadist a person who believes in a holy war morphed changed occupation the action of being conquered by a military force radicalized adopted a radical position on a political or social issue sectarian relating to different groups

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