Sorry Trump, If Anyone Is the “MVP” of ISIS, It's George W. Bush

At this point, it's all but impossible to figure what's going on in the head of Donald J. Trump. Is he actually trying to lose the election, you know, without throwing in the towel? Is he bat shit crazy? Or is he just trying to soak up as much attention as possible(my vote)? Trump's most tirade fingered President Barack Obama as the founder and “MVP” of the Islamic State. Trump also insinuated that Hillary Clinton was an MVP. Trump's tirade, as usual, glanced over a lot of facts, including the fact that it was ultimately the decisions of George W. Bush that lead to the rise of the Islamic State.

According to Trump, it was Obama's pullout in Iraq that led to the rise of the Islamic State. Winding down the war in Iraq was one of Obama's key campaign promises during his first run for the highest office, and one that he delivered on, at least in part. American troops have remained on the ground, though outside of special forces, most of the troops were in non-combat roles.fateful

George W. Bush and the Founding of the Islamic State

Problem is, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) wasn't actually founded in Iraq, but instead neighboring Syria, where American troops have not (officially) been deployed on the ground. Former Iraqis Ba'athists soldiers and leaders were among the founders of ISIS, and remain highly influential in the group's leadership. Yet these Ba'athists were not unleashed onto Syria by Obama, but instead George W. Bush, and his lackey Paul Bremer.

It was Bush who made the fateful decision to invade Iraq, using falsified evidence of weapons of mass destruction to justify military action. Bush ignored warnings from the State Department, as well as members of the military, outlining how fragile and unstable the political situation in Iraq was. Saddam Hussein, as horrible of a dictator as he was, was the only thing preventing widespread sectarian violence between the Kurds, the Sunni, and the Shia.

Shortly after the invasion, George W. Bush appointed Lewis Paul Bremer to head the occupational authority in Iraq. While Paul Bremer had had a successful career in the U.S. Foreign Service and also as a private international relations consultant, he was woefully under-qualified and unprepared to head up as complicated a mission as rebuilding Iraq. Bremer was, however, a “good ole boy” who towed the Republican party line well.

Bremer's most fateful decision was to essentially ban all former Ba'athists from participating in the Iraqi government, and to disband the Sunni dominated military. With a few swipes of his pen, Bremer sent tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims into the street. Many were armed, trained, and then no longer invested in the new Iraq. Some of these disbanded soldiers and government officials would later form the core of the Islamic State.

Meanwhile, Bush continued to underestimate the complicated relationship between the Sunni, the Shia, and the Kurds. The Shia make up the majority of Iraq's population, and were able to quickly seize control. After years of repression, many within the Shia community were ready to deliver retribution and to marginalize the Sunni population.

In the spirit of incompetency, George W. Bush then pushed for Nouri al-Maliki to become Prime Minister of Iraq. Maliki, however, was grossly under-qualified, and the exact wrong person for the job. A divisive Shia Muslim with an agenda, Maliki immediately began to oppress Iraq's Sunni population, including the tribes in the Sunni triangle.

Maliki also disbanded the Sons of Iraq, a Sunni militia group that had been instrumental in combating extremists.
Many of the Sons went on to join the Islamic State, bolstering the ranks of the extremist group. Even before this influx, the Islamic State's leadership and many of its most talented soldiers were disenfranchised Iraqi Sunnis.

As the Islamic State grew into a serious power in Syria, it turned its eyes back to Iraq. In June of 2o14 the Islamic State launched a major invasion of Iraq's sunni triangle. The Shia dominated army quickly fled, unwilling to defend the Sunni lands. Meanwhile, local Sunni militias and tribes practically welcomed the Sunni extremist group, seeing the Islamic State as a better alternative to the repressive Shia government.

What's important to remember is that it was George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq, then Bremer's choice to disenfranchise former Ba'athists, that created the conditions necessary for the Islamic State to form in Syria. And it was Bush's ignorance of the complicated sectarian relations in the country and his push for Maliki to be Prime Minister that would enable the Islamic State to seize such a huge chunk of Iraq with essentially no resistance.

At best, Obama and Hillary were role players in the Islamic State's rise. The real MVP was undoubtedly George W. Bush, and his side kick of Paul Bremer.