Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
(Durkin, 2014)
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the leader of ISIS (CBC News, 2014). “In six months, al-Baghdadi turned the Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL from a little-known militia in Syria to a very threatening organization that dictates international policy, forms coalitions and is redrawing the political and physical map of the Middle East” (Bar'el, 2015). The BBC wrote the following about Baghdadi:
"Baghdadi is believed to have been born in Samarra, north of Baghdad, in 1971.
Reports suggest he was a cleric in a mosque in the city around the time of the US-led invasion in 2003. Some believe he was already a militant jihadist during the rule of Saddam Hussein. Others suggest he was radicalized during the four years he was held at Camp Bucca, a US facility in southern Iraq where many al-Qaeda commanders were detained. He emerged as the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, one of the groups that later became ISIS, in 2010, and rose to prominence during the attempted merger with al-Nusra Front in Syria. He has not sworn allegiance to the leader of the al-Qaeda network, Zawahiri, who has urged ISIS to focus on Iraq and leave Syria to al-Nusra" (BBC News, 2014).
President Barack Obama:
(Burdoff Brown & Allen, 2013)
President Obama is the biggest proponent for taking ISIS out using any force necessary. “Obama has said that the U.S. is considering using air strikes or drones to help defend Iraq, and Secretary of State John Kerry has said the administration is even considering co-operating with Iran to fight ISIS” (CBC News, 2014). Obama has been back-and-forth with his opinions on what should be done regarding the terrorist group.
Nouri al-Maliki:
(Iraqi Embassy, 2013)
Maliki was the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014. “One of the reasons ISIS has been able to commandeer so much territory is that many Sunni citizens in the Iraqi heartland have felt disenfranchised by the Maliki government. With ISIS threatening to attack Baghdad, Maliki called on citizens to take up arms to defend the capital" (CBC News, 2014).
The BCC writes the following about Maliki:
"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki first came to power in 2006, at a time when sectarian violence was threatening to tear the country apart. Mr Maliki resisted pressure from Washington to request an extension of US troop presence in the country, and presided over the formal end of the US military presence in Iraq. However, despite his alliance narrowly winning the 2014 parliamentary election, he has struggled to contain a new tide of violence which has seen several cities slip from Iraqi government control, and has suffered shrinking support from Sunnis and Kurds. He was also forced to defend himself from accusations that he has used the judiciary to silence and imprison political rivals. In August 2014, after months of political infighting, new President Fuad Masum asked MP Haider al-Abadi to form a new government, despite Mr Maliki's protestations that the move was 'unconstitutional'" (BBC News, 2014)
Biblography:
Bar'el, Z. (2015, January 1). Most influential Arab leader in 2014: ISIS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - Middle East. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/.premium-1.634611
BBC News. (2014, July 5). Profile: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27801676
BBC News. (2014, August 12). Profile: Nouri Maliki. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11733715
Burdoff Brown, C., & Allen, J. (2013, November 7). Why President Obama isn't hitting the insurance companies - Carrie Budoff Brown and Jonathan Allen. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/barack-obama-health-insurance-companies-obamacare-affordable-care-act-health-care-99514.html
CBC News. (2014, June 16). ISIS in Iraq: Key players in the conflict - CBC.ca. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news
nteractives/who-iraq/
Durkin, E. (2014, November 9). Islamic State leader believed wounded in airstrike. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/islamic-state-leader-al-baghdadi-wounded-u-s-air-strike-article-1.2004600
Iraqi Embassy. (2013, April 8). Nouri al-Maliki: The U.S. has a foreign-policy partner in Iraq. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.iraqiembassy.us/in-the-news/nouri-al-maliki-the-us-has-a-foreign-policy-partner-in-iraq
