Headline News

How ISIS Was Created In A US Prison Camp Called Camp Bucca

It was called Camp Bucca. To coalition forces in Iraq, it was the primary detention facility for enemy prisoners of war. It is the birthplace of ISIS.

Published

11 years ago

June 3, 2015

Geoffrey Grider

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The facility spread out below him, row after row of neatly aligned white aluminum roofs, looking like Chiclets set against the endless beige of the desert floor.

It was called Camp Bucca. To coalition forces in Iraq, it was the primary detention facility for enemy prisoners of war. To Mitchell Gray, then 48 and serving his country for the third time, it was simply the place where the US Army had decided his skills, which included a law degree and a fluency in Arabic, were needed most.

He and the rest of his unit, the 45th Infantry Brigade of the Oklahoma National Guard, were flying helicopters in from Kuwait. It was shortly after landing that he got a first glimpse at a few of the 26,000 detainees, staring at him from the other side of the concertina wire.

A soldier stands guard as detainees pray at a U.S. military detention facility Camp Bucca.

“You never see hatred on the faces of Americans like you saw on the faces of these detainees,” Gray remembers of his 2008 tour. “When I say they hated us, I mean they looked like they would have killed us in a heartbeat if given the chance. I turned to the warrant officer I was with and I said, ‘If they could, they would rip our heads off and drink our blood.’ ”

What Gray didn’t know — but might have expected — was that he was not merely looking at the United States’ former enemies, but its future ones as well. According to intelligence experts and Department of Defense records, the vast majority of the leadership of what is today known as ISIS, including its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, did time at Camp Bucca.

And not only did the US feed, clothe and house these jihadists, it also played a vital, if unwitting, role in facilitating their transformation into the most formidable terrorist force in modern history.

Camp Bucca started, as so many policy blunders do, with nothing but the best intentions. The Army simply needed a place to stick bad actors where they could not harm US troops.

The 800th Military Police Brigade, a reserve unit based on Long Island, were the ones who christened it Camp Bucca. It was fitting symbolism for a place designed to hold terrorists: Ronald Bucca was an FDNY marshall who died on 9/11.

For much of the war, Bucca might as well have been invisible to folks back home. The war correspondents focused their attention on Mosul or Fallujah, places where the bullets were flying and the blood was flowing. The only detention facility to gain real notice was Abu Ghraib, where abuses against Iraqi prisoners made headlines around the world.

Early in Bucca’s existence, the most extreme inmates were congregated in Compound 6. There were not enough Americans guards to safely enter the compound — and, in any event, the guards didn’t speak Arabic. So the detainees were left alone to preach to one another and share deadly vocational advice.

Adel Jasim Mohammed, a former detainee, once described the scene to Al Jazeera. “Extremists had freedom to educate the young detainees,” Mohammed said. “I saw them giving courses using classroom boards on how to use explosives, weapons and how to become suicide bombers.”

They were also networking in ways that never would have been possible outside the wire. A few months back, The Guardian published an extraordinary interview with an ISIS leader it called Abu Ahmed, who described his years at Bucca in glowing terms.

This is the US prison where ISIS was born

“We had so much time to sit and plan,” Ahmed said. “It was the perfect environment. We all agreed to get together when we got out. The way to reconnect was easy. We wrote each other’s details on the elastic of our boxer shorts. When we got out, we called. Everyone who was important to me was written on white elastic. I had their phone numbers, their villages.”

“It really was that simple,” Ahmed said later during the interview. “Boxers helped us win the war.”

Al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic state, spent 10 quiet months at Bucca. According to Pentagon records, he was released in December 2004. He was such a model inmate, a military review board deemed him not to be a significant threat.

Bucca also housed Haji Bakr, a former colonel in Saddam Hussein’s air-defense force. Bakr was no religious zealot. He was just a guy who lost his job when the Coalition Provisional Authority disbanded the Iraqi military and instituted de-Baathification, a policy of banning Saddam’s past supporters from government work.

According to documents recently obtained by German newspaper Der Spiegel, Bakr was the real mastermind behind ISIS’s organizational structure and also mapped out the strategies that fueled its early successes. Bakr, who died in fighting in 2014, was incarcerated at Bucca from 2006-’08, along with a dozen or more of ISIS’s top lieutenants.

The collusion at Bucca got so bad that when Marine Maj. Gen. Doug Stone was put in command of the camp in 2007, he became aware that some insurgents were allowing themselves to be caught so they could join their comrades.

“They showed up knowing about our intake process,” Stone said. “They would come in and say, ‘I believe this and such and therefore I’d like to get into Compound 34.’ These guys were using detention for their own purposes.”

Stone immediately set about breaking up the 1,000-man compounds into 10-man huts to limit inmate interaction. He released detainees who weren’t a threat, so they couldn’t be indoctrinated by the ones who were. He implemented an ideological re-education program, bringing in local imams to preach a moderate version of the Koran.

“It made a difference. And if we had done some of those things five or six years earlier, it might have made more of a difference,” Stone said. “At that point, it was probably too little too late.”

As the battle-weary US began scrambling for the exit in 2009, many former-and-future jihadists held at Bucca were simply let go. Others were released into the hands of Iraqi authorities, who proved inept at keeping them locked up.

One of the first priorities of the Islamic State when it began organizing and gaining strength in 2010 and 2011 was to spring its would-be compatriots, which it did through a combination of bribing corrupt Iraqi officials and staging coordinated attacks on the prisons.

“There were a number of detainees that when we left, we said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t let these guys out,’ ” Stone said. “But of course they all got free. There was a lot of talent and expertise there. They really broke out the Who’s Who in the Zoo.”

It is with sadness that Stone, Gray and other soldiers look at the chaos now in the region. They came to help an oppressed people build a new Iraq. The end result, as ISIS rewrites the rules of region, may be that Iraq is wiped off the map altogether.

“There were obviously mistakes made in how we handled Iraq,” said Greg, the ex-officer. “In retrospect, bringing every jihadi and insurgent into the same place and giving them all the time in the world to get to know one another may go down as our biggest mistake.” source

Headline News

I Am Watching In Shock As Baptist Churches Are Now ‘Observing The Season Of Lent’ That Comes Directly From The Roman Catholic Counterfeit Church

Published

1 day ago

February 20, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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There is no doctrine of Lent found anywhere in the Bible, it is purely a creation of the Roman Catholic counterfeit church

Every year, as winter fades into spring, millions of professing Roman Catholics line up to receive ashes on their foreheads and begin a 40-day religious observance called Lent. They fast, they abstain, they “give something up,” and they prepare for Easter through ritual and self-denial. But here is the question every Bible believer must ask: Where is Lent found in the King James Bible?

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” Colossians 2:18 (KJB)

Historically, Lent developed centuries after the apostles were dead. It grew within the Roman Catholic system as biblical Christianity was merged with imperial power and pagan culture. The 40-day structure was patterned after Christ’s temptation in the wilderness — yet that event occurred before His earthly ministry began, not as preparation for celebrating His resurrection.

There is no biblical instruction to imitate Christ’s 40-day fast annually. Furthermore, Ash Wednesday — the ceremonial marking of foreheads — is nowhere commanded in the New Testament. It is ritualized symbolism borrowed from Old Testament mourning practices and institutionalized by Rome. The Roman Catholic Church would have you to believe that Lent is about fasting and repentance, but is really the pagan rite of Weeping for Tammuz.

Bible believers do not borrow doctrine from a system that:

Teaches sacramental salvation
Maintains a priesthood distinct from the believer
Claims authority equal to Scripture
Persecutes Bible believers throughout history

We are not Protestants protesting Rome. We are Bible believers standing on the Book. At least, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, but it’s not stopping Baptist churches like First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, from jumping on the Lent bandwagon. In a recent YouTube video entitled ‘Why Lent Matters’, they had this to say about Lent.

“Lent is a season that invites us to slow down and recalibrate our hearts before Easter. It reminds us of a hard but necessary truth—we are dust: finite, sinful, and deeply in need of God’s grace. Yet this season does not leave us in sorrow; it leads us to the cross, where we see both the seriousness of our sin and the overwhelming love of Christ, who bore judgment so we could receive mercy. As we reflect, repent, and turn back to God, Lent trains us to live in hope, fixing our eyes on the resurrection. From dust to glory, it tells the whole gospel story and prepares us to rejoice in the victory of Jesus.”

First of all, Christians should not be celebrating the pagan Easter holiday, another Roman Catholic invention plucked from ancient Babylon. Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on the third day according to the scripture, that’s our focus. Secondly, to say that “Lent is a season that invites us to…” is pure surrender to the Roman Catholic Church, the inventors of Lent. I am not accepting any invitations to pray to the saints, eat the Eucharist, burn incense, put an ash cross on my forehead or get in the box with a priest. Please have me excused from all of it.

On the surface to the average person, Lent appears harmless. It feels ‘spiritual’. It creates community, and it carries emotional weight. But so does every religious tradition that replaces Bible authority with institutional custom. The early Church did not observe Lent, the apostles did not command Lent, Paul did not teach Lent. Rome developed it at the Council of Nicea, their tradition preserved it, Pope Gregory I added the ashes, and many evangelicals and Baptists now imitate it. Bible believers should reject it across the board.

If a Christian chooses to fast privately before the Lord, that is between them and God, as it should be. But submitting to a Roman system of seasonal ritual complete with ashes, imposed abstinence, and church calendar obligation is not New Testament Christianity. We are not called to ritual, we are called to a risen Saviour, Jesus the Christ.

“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:10 (KJB)

Complete means complete, and Bible believers do not need a Roman Catholic Lent to finish what Jesus Christ has already finished.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Free Bible Program

Chaplain Farwell Of The Elmira Correctional Facility In Upstate New York Writes To Tell Us Of The ‘Desperate Need’ Of Their Inmates For Copies Of The Word Of God

Published

2 days ago

February 19, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The Elmira Correctional Facility in update New York has an urgent need for hundreds of copies of God’s preserved word

Elmira Correctional is a maximum ‘A facility’ in upstate NY, writes Chap Farwell. He says “We house between 1500 – 1600 incarcerated men. Approximately 600 are in our Reception Center either as parole violators, recidivists, or first time offenders awaiting classification that will send them to another correctional facility to serve their sentences and to be enrolled into a program designed to correct their behavior. Most don’t have any faith life at all even though their families may have. However, when the reality of being incarcerated hits them they reach out in desperation, which is where we as chaplains come in.” Chaplain Farwell is serving on the front lines, and Bibles Behind Bars is keeping his supply lines open.

“But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Genesis 39:21 (KJB)

Chap went on to say “Most ask for Bibles and for many it is their first one. As chaplains, we direct them to scripture and let them know that God loves them and quite possibly this is God’s plan for them. This is where they can encounter God, but they have to come to know God and the Bible helps them to do their part. We give these Bibles freely in the hope that they will give God a chance to speak to them and they can speak to God. We are constantly seeking Bibles and if you can be a source to provide them we would be most grateful. We especially need large print. Whatever you can do would be most appreciated. God bless you for your work.” Christian, God has called us to stand in the gap for the ‘least of these’ and to give them a copy of God’s preserved word. Come help us to do that, we need you!

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this monumental task of providing King James Bibles, New Testaments, scripture portions, gospel tracts as well as Spanish Bibles to inmates in jails and prisons from Florida to Alaska, and every state in between. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!

NOTE: If you need a 501 C3 Letter of Donation for tax purposes, please send your donation to:

NTEB Ministries
1340 N Great Neck Rd.
Ste. 1272-129
Virginia Beach, VA 23454.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Cryptocurrency

World Liberty Financial, Owned By The Trump Family, Unveils USD1 Cryptocurrency That They Say Will Give The US Dollar An Upgrade, Why Are They Doing It?

Published

2 days ago

February 19, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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World Liberty Financial owned by the Trump family looks to cash in big time with launch of their USD1 stablecoin they say will ‘upgrade the dollar’

There is nothing ‘accidental’ about the timing of this. A Trump family–backed venture unveiling a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency called USD1 and branding it as an “upgrade” to the U.S. dollar is not simply a fintech headline — it is a prophetic red flag. And Bible believers should not shrug this off as harmless innovation. This is not about “modernizing money.” It is about accelerating the migration of financial control from physical, decentralized cash into programmable, trackable, controllable digital infrastructure. And once that infrastructure is normalized, it will not matter who built it.

“Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” James 5:3 (KJB)

In the entire 250-year history of the United States, no presidential family has profited off the office of the president to the degree that President Donald Trump and his family are doing right now. Remember the $30 million the Biden family is claimed to have made for selling access to the office? Ha! That amount is so small that to compare the two would be laughable. The Trump family, so far, has made nearly $4,000,000,000.00 to date, and that figure could easily quadruple itself by 2028. But this is more than just a huuuuge payday for Trump INC., this is the foundational system for the Mark of the Beast that will ultimately control all buying and selling. You called them the Biden Crime Family when they profited, but you’re loving it when ‘Daddy’ Trump is the one doing the plundering. Isn’t ‘America First’ great?

Trump family says U.S. dollar needs an USD1 upgrade and they are the ones to do it

FROM CNBC: The Trumps’ company, World Liberty Financial, touts USD1 as an improvement on official U.S. currency. The firm’s website brands its stablecoin as “The Dollar. Upgraded.” And it calls the coin “still the US dollar, but for a new era.” On Wednesday, the firm held the World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago, the club owned by the president and operated as his winter White House.

The event, coming just before the first anniversary of the release of USD1, brought together financiers, technologists, television personalities, the president of the world soccer organization FIFA and the artist Nicki Minaj. From a Mar-a-Lago ballroom stage beneath an enormous stylized golden eagle sculpture, the message to attendees was that the old U.S. dollar needs to be modernized, that the private sector is the place to drive that innovation, and that stablecoins will help taxpayers by creating structural demand for U.S. government debt.

In fact, World Liberty backers argue, the new cryptocurrency they are building is not a threat to the dollar at all, but will help ensure the dollar remains dominant in global crypto finance — because USD1′s value is pegged to it.

But one big question is why, if the dollar needs modernizing, should that be done by the private sector? READ MORE

Trump’s Crypto Empire: The Truth About USD1 & World Liberty Financial

World Liberty Financials’ USD1 isn’t just another stablecoin — it’s a digital dollar with direct ties to President Trump. But what could the President being involved with his sons to launch a new digital dollar mean for America? But could a digital dollar that draws inspiration from Trump continue to divide an already divided country? Coinage took this episode up with no motives to arrive at an answer for you. We just wanted to connect the dots so you can decide the answer to that question yourselves.