Revealed: How Obama SET FREE the merciless terrorist warlord now
leading the ISIS horde blazing a trail of destruction through Iraq
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- The U.S. once had Islamic State of
Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) leader
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in custody at a detention facility in Iraq, it was revealed Friday
- Al Baghdadi was among the prisoners released in 2009 from the U.S.'s now-closed Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr in Iraq
- It is
unclear why the U.S. let the merciless al Qaeda leader slip away
- Al
Baghadadi and his troops took the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and
Ramadi earlier this year and conquered Tikrit and Mosul within the last several days
- They
are now bearing down on Baghdad, burning down everything that stands in
their way and carrying out executions on Iraqi civilians, soldiers and
police officers
- ISIS posted an image today of an officer's decapitated
head tweeted with sickening message: 'This is our ball. It's
made of skin #WorldCup'
Published:
10:55 EST, 13 June 2014
|
Updated:
14:20 EST, 13 June 2014
The United States once had Islamic State of
Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) leader
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in custody at a detention facility in Iraq, but
president Barack Obama let him go, it was revealed on Friday.
Al Baghdadi was among the prisoners released in 2009 from the U.S.'s now-closed Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr in Iraq.
But now five years later he is leading the army of ruthless
extremists bearing down on Baghdad who want to turn the country into an
Islamist state by blazing a bloody trail through towns and cities, executing
Iraqi soldiers, beheading police officers and gunning down innocent civilians.
Scroll down for video
+11
These are the only two known photos of Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi. He is seen here on the left as a prisoner half a decade ago
and on the right more recently as the shadowy head of the Islamic State
of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, also known as ISIS
+11
This uundated handout picture of jihadi leader
of The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Du'a, was provided by the Department of
State. The U.S. government has a $10 million bounty out for the al Qaeda
leader
It is unclear why the U.S. let the merciless al Qaeda leader slip away, however, one theory proposed by The Telegraph
is that al Baghadadi was granted amnesty along with thousands of other
detainees because the U.S. was preparing to pull out of Iraq.
The
United States began withdrawing troops from Iraq in 2010,and Camp Bucca
closed in 2011 along with the United States' other military facilities
as President Obama declared that the War in Iraq had come to an end.
Another possible explanation is that al Baghadadi did not become a jihadist until after his release from Camp Bucca.
The story
of how Baghadadi ended up in U.S. custody in the first place and later
came to be the leader of a violent terrorist group is the stuff of
legend.
It
is said by some that al Baghadadi was in the wrong place at the wrong
time when he was picked up by the U.S. military, a farmer who got caught
up in a massive sweep. It was at Camp Bucca that he was radicalized and
became a follower of Osama Bin Laden.
Another
version of the story is that al Baghadadi, who also goes by the alias
of Abu Duaa, was an Islamic fundamentalist before the U.S. invaded Iraq
and he became a leader in al Qaeda's network before he was arrested and
detained by American forces in 2005.
'Abu Duaa was connected to the intimidation, torture and murder of local
civilians in Qaim,' according to a 2005 U.S. intelligence report.
'He would kidnap individuals
or entire families, accuse them, pronounce sentence and then publicly
execute them.'
+11
Crazed: Jihadists are carrying out summary
executions on civilians, soldiers and police officers including this
police major after taking control of large swathes of Iraq
+11
Shock and awe: An ISIS propaganda video shows
militants blindfolding a Sunni police major in his home before cutting
off his head
+11
Barbaric: This picture of the police officer's
decapitated head resting on his legs was tweeted with the message: 'This
is our ball. It is made of skin#WorldCup'
The U.S.
now has a $10 million warrant out out of the brute, who is accused of
bombing a mosque in Baghadad in 2011 and killing former Sunni lawmaker
Khalid al-Fahdawl.
Al
Baghadadi's use of aliases has made him a difficult man to pin down.
The terrorist organizer rarely shows his face - even to his followers.
There are only two known pictures of him in existence, and one is from
before he was released from prison.
'We either arrested or killed a man of that name about half a dozen times, he
is like a wraith who keeps reappearing, and I am not sure where fact and
fiction meet,' Lieutenant-General Sir Graeme Lamb, a former British
special forces commander, told The Telegraph.
'There are those who want to promote the idea that this man is invincible,
when it may actually be several people using the same nom de guerre.'
Al
Baghadadi and his troops had already taken key cities of Fallujah and
Ramadi in Iraq earlier this year and have conquered the Iraqi cities of
Tikrit and Mosul within the last several days.
They are now on the war path to Iraq's capitol city Baghadad.
The terrorist group's sudden rise in Iraq has taken the United States mostly by surprise.
President
Obama famously said in October of 2011 that the American soldiers
leaving Iraq would come home 'with their heads held high, proud of their
success.
'That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end.'
+11
President Obama reiterated on Friday that, 'We will not be sending us troops back into combat in Iraq'
Faced
with the real possibility that Iraq's capitol could fall into the hands
of terrorists, President Obama is now rethinking America's military
engagement in Iraq.
The president said on Thursday that he would consider launching air strikes on al Baghadadi and his followers.
'What
we've seen over the last couple of days indicates Iraq’s going to need
more help' from the United States and other nations, Obama said yesterday from the
Oval Office.
'I
don't rule out anything,' he said, 'because we do have a stake in making
sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in Iraq –
or Syria, for that matter.'
In
his daily briefing with reporters, White House Press Secretary Jay
Carney clarified that president Obama was specifically referring to
airstrikes.
'We're not considering boots on the ground,' he said.
+11
On the warpath to Baghdad: A graphic showing the town and cities captured by ISIS over the last few days
+11
Up in arms: Members of Iraqi security forces chant slogans in Baghdad Sunni Islamist militants pressed towards the capital
+11
Sabre-rattling: An Islamic militant issues a
call to arms, saying: 'Declare Allah the Greatest! Allah is the
Greatest!' in a video released by ISIS
President Obama reiterated on Friday that, 'We will not be sending us troops back
into combat in Iraq.'
Obama
said the U.S. would not get involved at all militarily until Iraqi
President Nouri al-Maliki and other members of the government
demonstrate that they can put aside their secretarian differences and
work toward unifying the country.
'Ultimately it's up to Iraqis to solve their problems,' Obama said.
+11
Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to
fight against the predominantly Sunni militants, who have taken over
Mosul and other Northern provinces, gesture from an army truck
+11
Kurdish Peshmerga forces seize the control of Kirkuk where Iraqi army forces and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant clashed
The
news that the U.S. may have played a role in the rise of the new Osama
bin Laden comes just a week after President Obama released five Taliban
commanders in exchange for a U.S. solider being held hostage by the
terrorist network.
Lawmakers
immediately questioned the logic of the president's decision, saying
that the move could end up backfiring on the U.S. if the five fighters
return to the battlefield in Afghanistan once their mandatory one-year
stay in Qatar comes to a close.
They
are especially concerned given the president's announcement just days
before their release that he plans to withdraw the majority of America's
troops in Afghanistan by the end of this year.
Already one, of the Taliban 5 have vowed to return to Afghanistan to fight American soldiers there once he is able.
'I wouldn't be doing it if I thought that it was contrary to American national security,' the president said at the time.
Please visit