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| ISIL |
The
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been truly devastating
to those it comes in contact with and bloody to those under its control.
Its sudden rise and expansion in 2014 has perplexed many. It has
humiliated its enemies, including those in Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran and
Washington. Armed with extensive weaponry,
boasting an international
fighting force and adept in the art of digital media propaganda, the
so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has become the de facto
authority across an area the size of Jordan.
This two-part series peels back the rhetoric to examine how a
volunteer organisation managed to rise up from the ashes of
post-invasion Iraq and defeat standing armies many times its size and
capacity.
How did it begin? How did it grow so astonishingly quickly? And how
is it being used by global and regional powers to change the
geopolitical map of the Middle East?
| ISIL is the product of genocide in Syria. The Syrian civil war was
ISIL's greatest gift and ISIL somewhat was President Assad’s greatest
gift. |
With critical testimony from informed insiders and experts from
across three continents, as well as original footage from Syria and
Iraq, this series mixes documentary and discussion to unravel the
interweaving nexus of events and alliances, at once aligned and
conflicting, that have given rise to the world's most notorious, and
powerful, insurgent group.
Al Jazeera's former Middle East correspondent, Sue Turton, narrates
the documentary and also moderates a studio discussion between Iraq's
former national security adviser, Mowaffak al Rubaie; Ali Khedery,
special adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq; and
Australian journalist and Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov.
