Ten years ago, a young jihadist named “Abu” was captured and sent to Camp Bucca, the US-run prison in Iraq. During that time, he met Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who ultimately became the leader of ISIS.He said:
“We could never have all got together like this in Baghdad, or anywhere else,” he told me. “It would have been impossibly dangerous. Here, we were not only safe, but we were only a few hundred metres away from the entire al-Qaida leadership.”
Abu became "an essential member" of the fledgling ISIS. The American occupation angered him and he, like many, believe the US favored the larger Shia population at the expense of the dominant Sunnis.
Abu decided to speak to The Guardian because he says he's worried about ISIS’ vision for the region.
The brutality of Isis is increasingly at odds with his own views, which have mellowed with age as he has come to believe that the teachings of the Qur’an can be interpreted and not read literally.
Watch Jesse & his vigilant producer Alex break down what we know about ISIS on #OffTheGrid:
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC its affiliates, or its employees.
More from Jesse Ventura's Off The Grid
Jesse Ventura: How Bernie Sanders Sold Out
Jesse Ventura remembers his hero, Muhammad Ali
Jesse Ventura: Snowden performed public service & is a hero
Jesse Ventura: Why voters should listen to Gov. Gary Johnson
Jesse Ventura: Clinton will do anything to win, even pick Sanders as VP
Jesse Ventura: Here's one reason why I can’t be president
Is there hope for our economy? Most Americans don’t think so.
Jesse Ventura: I am not running for president
Continue the Discussion