To the contrary, Saddam contained Iran and radical jihadis. That’s said, Saddam was a terrible guy, no doubt…
[To the contrary, Saddam contained Iran and radical jihadis. That’s said, Saddam was a terrible guy, no doubt…]
Actually, Saddam housed radical jihadists. The men who went on to found ISIS were just one faction of Saddam’s dead-enders. Jihadists flourished in Saddam’s Iraq as long as their aggression was aimed at non-Sunnis in Iraq rather than Saddam’s rule.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/isis-origins-anbari-zarqawi/577030/
Similarly, Syria’s Assad encouraged jihadists to go to Iraq to fight the Great Satan. They got a ton of experience, which came in useful when they turned their attention to him.
The role of the islamic State
in the Assad regime’s Strategy
for regime Survival: How and
Why the Assad regime
Supported the islamic State
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/4698
People have cartoonish preconceptions about alliances. Alliances are not Saturday morning cartoon relationships where the only significant disagreements are over who gets to risk his life first, with each Superfriend champing at the bit. In real life, alliances are temporary, and every player is completely self-interested to the exclusion of the interests of his allies.