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

10 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

Now It’s Iran’s Turn As Hundreds Of Missiles And Drones Rain Down On Tel Aviv With Some Evading Iron Dome And Inflicting Terror On Jewish Civilians

Published

5 hours ago

June 13, 2025

Geoffrey Grider

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The IDF warned Friday evening that Israel is set to come under what could be a massive Iranian missile and drone attack after Israel conducts strikes against Iran’s nuclear and military facilities and personnel.

The majority of the missiles sent by Iran on Friday were either intercepted by Iron Dome or missed their desired targets, as most analysts figured would happen. But in that mix of falling rockets, about a half dozen got through and lit up portions of Tel Aviv pretty good. Upwards of 63 Israelis were wounded to various degrees in the action. American THAAD systems joined forces with Iron Dome to defend, asking some to wonder if the United States is about to get dragged into a Middle East regional war. And why are Russia and China so quiet right now? That’s the memo.

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” James 4:1 (KJB)

In typical Iranian style, the conflict was quickly shifted to directly attacking civilians instead of going after Israeli military targets. Iran and their proxies in Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza love to conduct operations standing behind children, launching attacks from active hospitals. Israel is either going to do to one of two things now. Either they will accomplished their stated goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, or they will exchange fire with Iran and call it quits like they did in 2024. But getting rid of those nuclear reactors is a big, big job, and it won’t be accomplished in days, weeks or even a few months. War is on deck, and maybe in more than just the Middle East.

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Iranian attack toll rises: At least 44 injured, two in critical condition

FROM YNET NEWS: Magen David Adom Director Eli Bin reported on Friday, shortly after the Iranian missile attack on Israel that at least 44 people were injured, with two in critical condition, while the others suffered minor to moderate wounds due to shrapnel. All were evacuated to various hospitals in central Israel for treatment.

An Israeli security source said late Friday, amid Iran’s ongoing retaliatory attack against the country, that the U.S. is actively taking part in intercepting the Iranian munitions. Five to seven Iranian missiles landed in the Tel Aviv area late Friday as Iran began its retaliatory attack against Israel, sending dozens of ballistic missiles. Tehran sent over 100 ballistic missiles against the country as the IDF reported a third missile volley is expected to arrive in the region soon.

Even with Iron Dome in Israel along with help from THAAD missile systems from the United States, some of the rockets fired by Iran are getting through with scores seriously wounded. The big battle is yet ahead, pray for the the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6 (KJB) pic.twitter.com/aX9JZHzy5N

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) June 13, 2025

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit late Friday warned for a second time Israel was coming under and Iranian attack. “The IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat. The public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.”

pic.twitter.com/zqYsoL03oM

— LoriAnnforJesus (@KJVGal777) June 13, 2025

The IDF said on Friday evening that the Air Force completed strikes on Iran’s nuclear facility in the area of Isfahan. “The site conducts a ‘reconversion’ process of enriched uranium. This is the next stage after uranium enrichment in the nuclear weapons production process.

“The strike destroyed a facility for metallic uranium production, infrastructure for enriched uranium conversion, laboratories and additional infrastructure,” Spokesperson Brig. Gen Ephraim Dafrin said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to speak on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump as the Israeli Air Force continues strikes in Iran entering their 12th hour, including attacks in Iran’s western Hamadan province. Netanyahu has called a security briefing for 6:30 p.m. local time to evaluate the strike campaign in Iran, dubbed Operation Rising Lion. He will be joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Mossad Director David Barnea, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior security officials. READ MORE

Missiles rain down on Tel Aviv as Iran fires back

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

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“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

Headline News

Iran Vows A Fiery Response To Overnight Airstrikes On Nuclear Facilities As Israel Says There Is Much More Action Coming Over The Next Few Days

Published

15 hours ago

June 13, 2025

Geoffrey Grider

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Israel renewed airstrikes against Iran early Friday morning as the Natanz Nuclear Plant appeared to be in ruins, no word on strike against Fordow and Isfahan.

For the past 16 years, NTEB has written countless number of articles speculating on what it would look like when the day finally came for Israel to strike on the nuclear facilities in Iran. Last night, the whole world watched it happen, and the response to it on social media was quite predictable. The enemies of Israel were kind enough to remind us who and where they are, and that will be useful information in the days ahead. Israel’s official state plane, the ‘Wings Of Zion’, has left Israeli airspace presumably with Prime Minister Netanyahu onboard. That’s the memo.

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 (KJB)

Of course, last night as impressive as it was, is simply the opening round of what promises to be a protracted fight. Israel is seeking to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability, but it is a slippery slope into all out war. No word as of yet from Russia and China, both of whom have a signed mutual defense pact with Iran. We shall soon see if it’s worth the paper it’s printed on. Keep in mind, Israel’s attack on Iran last night is just one of the many things we will be discussing on a special Prophecy News Podcast ’emergency broadcast’ starting Saturday at Noon EST. See YOU there!

Iran vows ‘painful fate’ for Israel, fires 100 drones in 1st response to attack; IAF downs them

FROM THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel on Friday it faced a “bitter and painful” fate in response to the attack launched overnight against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, as Tehran launched 100 drones toward Israel in its initial response.

Israel alerted its citizens on Friday morning that Iran had launched more than 100 drones — which would take several hours to arrive — telling people nationwide to remain near bomb shelters. Three hours later, the IDF Home Front Command lifted its instruction to Israelis to remain near shelters without a single siren sounding in the country, after it worked to shoot them down outside Israeli territory.

So far, Iran’s strongest response to Israel’s precision strikes last night have been of the cartoon variety. Will Iran meaningfully respond, are they capable of it? pic.twitter.com/ZxmFY353KD

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) June 13, 2025

The IDF said late Friday morning that it had “control over the situation,” though it did not yet confirm shooting all of the drones down. Restrictions remained in effect for schools and workplaces in addition to public gatherings or events.

Israel “opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centers,” Khamenei said Friday, in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The comments came after Israel launched a deadly wave of attacks that killed the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and top nuclear scientists.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself up for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said. READ MORE

Israel strikes Iran as the whole world chooses side

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

Headline News

Israel Launches ‘Operation Rising Lion’ And Eliminates Nearly All IRGC Commanders In First Wave Of Attacks On Iran’s Nuclear Facilities In Early Morning Hours

Published

1 day ago

June 12, 2025

Geoffrey Grider

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Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation aimed at dismantling the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel’s survival. This operation will continue for as long as necessary to eliminate this danger.

Operation Rising Lion launched as a complete and total surprise for the military of Iran, it happened so fast that Iran never even had time to sound the warning siren. In moments, precision airstrikes took out, one by one, nearly the entire top brass of the IRGC, as they lay sleeping in their beds. For over 16 years, NTEB has written about what this day might look like, tonight it happened. That’s the memo.

“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalms 121:4 (KJB)

Iran will certainly retaliate, that is if they still retain the ability to do so, but as of yet, no news of an Iranian counterattack has surfaced. Iran has been bragging recently about have advanced long range missiles, perhaps they do, but they better move fast. Israel is pounding them with everything they have, so it begs the question of will Russia or China, both of whom have a signed military defense pact with Iran, step in and help their ally out? Below is the message that Benjamin Netanyahu gave the Jewish people and the entire world tonight about the reasons for Operation Rising Lion, and why the time had come.

‘Never again is now’: Netanyahu announces strikes on Iran nuclear targets

FROM THE JERUSALEM POST: For decades, the leaders of Tehran have openly called for Israel’s destruction. They have backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a nuclear weapons program. In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atomic bombs—nine. More concerning, Iran has recently taken unprecedented steps to weaponize this uranium. If not stopped, Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in a very short time—it could be a year, or even just months. This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s survival.

Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were victims of a Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear Holocaust, especially one initiated by the Iranian regime. As Prime Minister, I have consistently made it clear: Israel will never allow those who call for our annihilation to develop the means to carry out their threats. Tonight, Israel has backed those words with action.

OPERATION: RISING LION Israel is pounding Iran with wave after wave of blistering airstrikes. News coming in now that the entire top brass of the IRGC have been eliminated. Iran didn’t even have time to sound the warning sirens. Total surprise. pic.twitter.com/2lZyasXx8o

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) June 13, 2025

We have struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment and weaponization programs. We targeted Iran’s primary enrichment facility in Natanz. We also targeted leading nuclear scientists involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons project. Additionally, we struck at Iran’s ballistic missile program. Last year, Iran launched 300 ballistic missiles at Israel. Each missile carries a ton of explosives, threatening the lives of hundreds. Soon, those missiles could carry nuclear warheads, putting not hundreds, but millions at risk. Iran is preparing to produce tens of thousands of these missiles within three years.

What’s happening right now is only the first phase of the complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear program. No going back now. #flight777 https://t.co/VLohAluHpf

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) June 13, 2025

I assure the civilized world: we will not let the world’s most dangerous regime obtain the world’s most dangerous weapons. And Iran plans to give these nuclear weapons to its terrorist proxies, making the nightmare of nuclear terrorism all too real. The increasing range of Iran’s ballistic missiles would bring that nuclear nightmare to the cities of Europe and, eventually, to America. Remember, Iran calls Israel the “small Satan” and America the “great Satan,” and for decades, it has led millions in chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” Today, Israel is responding to those genocidal calls with action—and with a call of our own: Long live Israel and long live America.

If Iran is planning on retaliating, they better do it soon. Operation Rising Lion is getting the job done. Say bye-bye to your nuclear sites, and enjoy the revolution. Go Israel. pic.twitter.com/CRRPq1oKcH

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) June 13, 2025

Our action today will help make the world a much safer place. I want to thank President Trump for his leadership in confronting Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He has repeatedly made it clear that Iran cannot have a nuclear enrichment program. Today, it is evident that Iran is simply buying time, refusing to meet the basic requirements of peaceful nations. This is why we have no choice but to act—and to act now.

The hardest decision any leader faces is to stop a threat before it fully materializes. Nearly a century ago, facing the Nazis, a generation of leaders failed to act in time. They were paralyzed by the horrors of World War I and determined to avoid conflict at all costs—and they got the worst war in history. They adopted a policy of appeasement. They ignored all the warning signs. That failure led to World War II, the deadliest conflict in history, claiming 60 million lives, including six million Jews—one-third of my people.

After that war, the Jewish people and the Jewish state vowed, “Never again.” Well, never again is now. Today, Israel has shown that we have learned the lessons of history. When enemies vow to destroy you, believe them. When enemies build weapons of mass destruction, stop them. As the Bible teaches us: When someone comes to kill you, rise and act first. This is exactly what Israel has done today. We have risen like lions to defend ourselves.

Over 3,000 years ago, Moses gave the people of Israel a message that has steeled our resolve ever since: “Be strong and courageous,” he said. Today, our strong and courageous soldiers and people stand united to defend ourselves against those who seek our destruction. And in doing so, we defend many others, and we roll back a murderous tyranny. Generations from now, history will record that our generation stood its ground, acted in time, and secured our common future. May God bless Israel. May God bless the forces of civilization everywhere. Thank you. READ MORE