1. US invaded #Afghanistan after #Taliban refused to hand over Bin Laden after 9/11 attacks.
2. US invaded #Iraq based on tortured “confession” of Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi that AQ was working with #Saddam to get WMDs.
3. But, just like AQ, there no WMDs in Iraq - until invasion.
2. US invaded #Iraq based on tortured “confession” of Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi that AQ was working with #Saddam to get WMDs.
3. But, just like AQ, there no WMDs in Iraq - until invasion.
4. Abu Musab al-#Zarqawi left Afghanistan to set up AQI in Iraq to fight US.
5. His tactics were so brutal than even AQ central tried to curb them.
6. Shia and Sunni groups who’d both fought occupiers turned on each other while US back one against the other.
5. His tactics were so brutal than even AQ central tried to curb them.
6. Shia and Sunni groups who’d both fought occupiers turned on each other while US back one against the other.
7. Abu Ghraib abuse images shocked the world but Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (#torture) first used in Kandahar, Bagram and #CIA ‘black sites.’
8. Alleged AQ & Taliban captives sent to #Guantanamo where General Geoffrey Miller applied US approved torture methods.
8. Alleged AQ & Taliban captives sent to #Guantanamo where General Geoffrey Miller applied US approved torture methods.
9. Miller redeployed to #AbuGhraib and #CampBucca when abuses took place.
10. In Bucca, AQI prisoners met Saddam supporters and formed #IslamicState in Iraq. ISI became #ISIS, then IS.
11. IS didn’t just attack US. They hit everyone. 17 IS leaders had been in Bucca.
10. In Bucca, AQI prisoners met Saddam supporters and formed #IslamicState in Iraq. ISI became #ISIS, then IS.
11. IS didn’t just attack US. They hit everyone. 17 IS leaders had been in Bucca.
12. IS went global and appeared in Afghanistan where they declared Taliban “apostates” and fought them.
13. Taliban were effective in fighting IS but ex-Afghan government had benefited from this. IS remains a major threat to Taliban. IS attacked Taliban as it entered Kabul.
13. Taliban were effective in fighting IS but ex-Afghan government had benefited from this. IS remains a major threat to Taliban. IS attacked Taliban as it entered Kabul.
14. The AQ spectre with Taliban is a red herring. Despite presence, no AQ attacks have been launched from Afghanistan on foreign soil. Taliban won’t allow it.
15. AQ’s biggest presence was in #Syria where it dissolved and became #HTS - a local entity confined to fight
15. AQ’s biggest presence was in #Syria where it dissolved and became #HTS - a local entity confined to fight
against Syrian regime. It reassures West and, even fights and imprisons those still aligned to AQ central.
16. AQ may have been the original threat to the West but invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq created something far worse. Irony is that Taliban now also faces that threat.
16. AQ may have been the original threat to the West but invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq created something far worse. Irony is that Taliban now also faces that threat.
17. The invasion of Afghanistan all led to this moment. It was a cumulative failure and disaster of world-shaking proportions. But it’s time to get end “imperial hubris” and change tired two-decade old narratives and give peace and reconciliation a chance.
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