The secret history of isis. Frontlinis made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation for public broadcasting. Major support for frontliis provided by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information is available at macfound. Org. Additional support is provided by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. The john and Helen Glessner family trust, supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. The ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, at fordfoundation. Org. The wyncote foundation. And by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. The Guerrilla Army that roared east to take over. Narrator it was early 2014. Isis has seized many iraqi cities. Narrator they seemed to come out of nowhere. In northern iraq, a number of districts have been taken over by fighters. Militants have swallowed up territory, and theyre pushing toward baghdad. Narrator the terror group isis started capturing key territory in iraq. The jolting gong was when they swept into western iraq and took control of a third of western iraq. The banks that were robbed and stripped, the assets that were stripped in that entire area was huge. And that was, as i said, the jolting gong that said, wait a minute, how could this happen . Deep concern about isis pushing into baghdad. Isis has been seizing territory in iraq. They were able to swiftly take over huge areas of iraq. It was shocking how the army didnt even fight, didnt even put a fight. And taking over mosul, the second largest city. I think washington was stunned when the second largest city in iraq, a city of two million people, fell in a day. To a terrorist organization that we had not imagined was in the first order of terrorist organizations. Narrator but these fighters were not new. They had been at war for more than a decade, ever since the American Invasion of iraq. They have used beheadings, suicide bombings, and mass killings to implement a violent plan. A plan designed and carried out by this man Abu Musab Alzarqawi, the founder of isis. Narrator the secret history of isis began at the cia in the aftermath of 9 11. There was an urgent question about Abu Musab Alzarqawi. I was an analyst working on the team that was charged with evaluating whether or not alqaeda and iraq had conspired together to conduct 9 11 attacks. Narrator at the agencys counterterrorism center, analyst nada bakos was tasked with learning everything she could about zarqawi. On the team, as an analyst, the big question was whether or not zarqawi was part of alqaeda at the time. Narrator bakos began by piecing together zarqawis life. Zarqawi grew up in zarqa, jordan, which was also near a Palestinian Refugee camp. He was a tough kid in a tough neighborhood. Narrator poor and angry, it didnt take long for zarqawi to get into trouble. He was a thug. He was in and out of prison. He was a petty criminal. It was rumored that he had worked as a pimp. He was into drugs. He was into tattoos. You know, his friends in zarqa used to call him the green man because of all the tattoos that he had on his body. Narrator behind bars, zarqawi would undergo a transformation. In this prison, aljafr prison, they allowed him to share cell block with other radical fighters or people who wanted to launch jihad. In prison, he really came into his own, because he managed to dominate the other prisoners. He managed to establish himself as a leader. He took his religion more and more seriously. Zarqawi at the time was the muscle of the movement in jail, and he roughed a lot of people up during his time in jail. Narrator as the green man became more religious, he knew his tattoos would be viewed as sinful. A razor blade was smuggled into the prison. It was brutal. He had them actually. The skin taken off. Its like hes shedding his old life, and this tattoo was a reminder of who he was, and he had to get rid of that to almost purify himself. Narrator after five years, zarqawi was released. Zarqawi became a leader among the jihadists in prison, and came out of prison in jordan a jihadist firebrand. Had reimagined himself as a mujahid, or holy warrior, dedicated to the establishment of the islamic empire. Narrator in his quest to become a holy warrior, zarqawi left jordan. The cia tracked him to kandahar, afghanistan. Zarqawi hoped to meet Osama Bin Laden. When he does go to kandahar to try to meet with bin laden, hes rejected. At his point, zarqawi is so low on the totem pole, and its just something that was just beneath him. Neither Osama Bin Laden nor his deputy Ayman Alzawahiri were terribly impressed with him. He seemed and acted like a thug. He was not very sophisticated. In fact, they considered him a rather poor recruit to alqaeda. Narrator zarqawi would leave kandahar determined to continue jihad, and to prove bin laden wrong. In 2002, he saw his chance. As president bush signaled Saddam Hussein had to go, zarqawi moved to a terrorist camp in northern iraq. It set off alarm bells at the cia. Cia Operations Officer sam faddis, who ran a kill capture team, was assigned the case. Headquarters is extremely, extremely interested. I mean, the number one timesensitive priority, as of june 02, when i left headquarters, was go collect on this islamic extremist enclave along the iran iraq border. Narrator it didnt take long for faddis to find zarqawi and learn what was going on in the camp. We literally had guys that were working for us that were inside the camp. Theyre working on chemical and biological weapons. They were doing a lot of work with cyanidebased things. Narrator at cia headquarters, it was a threat they could not ignore if american troops were to invade iraq. If we took saddam out, zarqawi was going to cause a lot of problems. He was someone who we would have wanted dead if we had the opportunity and the wherewithal to do it. Narrator and sam faddis had a plan to do just that. I mean, a handful of aircraft tomorrow, with the specificity that we have in their locations, will end this threat. And we will finish these guys. This seemed like the Perfect Moment we know where they are, we know what theyre up to. This seemed like the right time to target them and to go after them. Narrator the attack plan was fasttracked from the cia to the white house. But as america prepared to take out Saddam Hussein, the president was told that hitting zarqawi could cause a problem. I remember there were discussions about attacking various camps that we thought bad guys were hanging out in, and i think the one youre referring to, we made a judgment that, lets not start the war before were ready. Narrator when news of the decision reached cia headquarters, there was frustration. laughs oh i couldnt believe it. We have a prime opportunity to take out a jihadist that we know poses a threat to our allies, in addition to american forces, once they invade. There was nobody on that team who felt Like Washington had made the right decision. Theres another country getting up, ready to go up in flames. Were giving them time and space. This will turn out very badly. We need to get them, get rid of them right now. Narrator but as Vice President dick cheney headed to the cia, he was preparing to do Something Else with zarqawi use him to connect bin laden and Saddam Hussein to make the case for war. Vicepresident cheney came to the cia asking lots of questions. He wanted to know not only, is there a connection between Saddam Hussein and bin laden . , but, we want there to be a connection between the two. Narrator the cia officers believed there was no evidence of a connection. No, never. We never found any indication that zarqawi was in baghdad working for saddam or linked up with saddam. Narrator the vicepresident and his chief of staff, Scooter Libby, pushed back. It was pretty intense. We were lined up on one side of the table, vicepresident cheney and Scooter Libby were on the other side. And they walked in with a lot of questions and being very skeptical as to the intelligence that we had been gathering up to that point. Narrator cheney seemed to want zarqawi to be the link between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. The vicepresident s frustrated. His questions are all about zarqawi, his connection to saddam, and whether or not they had discussed 9 11, and if saddam had participated. Narrator bakos says the vicepresident didnt like the answer. We tried to explain over and over again that it would be impossible for him logically to be working with saddam. There was no connection between alqaeda and Saddam Hussein and iraq that we could find. Zarqawis the kind of guy saddam would kill without a moments thought. And the response to that was met with skepticism, lots of questions, and a lot more frustration. Narrator but at the white house, the allegations would not go away. They would appear again as colin powell prepared for a speech at the United Nations designed to convince the public to support the war. The speech supposedly had been prepared in the white house in the nsc. But when we were given what had been prepared, it was totally inadequate, and we couldnt track anything in it. And when i asked condi rice, the National Security advisor, where did this come from, it turns out the vicepresident s office had written it. Narrator powell would turn to the cia to vet the speech. We had a copy of the speech that was sent over from the white house that powell was preparing, and one of our senior analysts was working on it, editing, working on the language to ensure that it reflected our analysis. The speech that will be hed round the world at the security council. Powell will try to make the link between iraq and alqaeda. Narrator just days later, powell arrived at the United Nations. We have come to another critical moment on the way to a new war with iraq. Walking into that room is always a daunting experience, but i had been there before. And we had projectors and all sorts of technology to help us make the case. In this chamber of the unid nations today, the secretary of state. There in the center of attention, secretary of state colin powell and george tenet, the director of the cia. I think he was very nervous. Powell doesnt like to read speeches; he likes to have a few note cards and then do his powell thing. But this one he read from the text, every word. My purpose today is to provide you with additional information. Narrator at the counterterrorism center, bakos was watching carefully to see what powell would say about zarqawi, bin laden, and Saddam Hussein. Were sitting in our room at ctc watching the television with a copy of the speech in our hand. What i want to bring to your attention today is the potentially much more sinister nexus between iraq and the alqaeda terrorist network. When he got to our portion, it went off our script fairly quickly. And we were looking around at each other saying, wheres he at, wheres he at . Were flipping through pages. And so, you know, right away, we could tell that this wasnt reflecting the language that we had used. Narrator powell used zarqawi to make the connection between bin laden and Saddam Hussein. Iraq today harbors a deadly terrorist network headed by Abu Musab Alzarqawi, an associate collaborator of Osama Bin Laden and his alqaeda lieutenants. It drew conclusions in language we would not use. So we were very, very, very careful about describing the relationship as we saw it, and it seemed to overinflate and not reflect our analysis. How did that happen, nada . Within the process of how it went, you know, where it went back to the white house and who worked on it after that, i dont know how it was changed, or by who. Narrator powell now says the speech was approved by cia chief george tenet, but he doesnt remember the details about zarqawi. Why did he make it into the speech . I dont remember. Zarqawi was not anything uppermost in my mind. It was not a significant part of the speech for me. It was almost a passing reference. Narrator but it was more than a passing reference. Seven minutes of powells speech were devoted to zarqawi. His name is mentioned 21 times. Powell transformed Abu Musab Alzarqawi in the eyes of the world. From his terrorist network in iraq, zarqawi can direct his network in the middle east and beyond. I cant even imagine what that did for zarqawis ego, to be, you know, here he is, his name is spoken at the u. N. Now hes showing bin laden and alqaeda who he really is, right . Hes become this iconic person without ever really doing anything. Narrator in the days that followed the speech, zarqawi disappeared. Rapid series of 40 explosis lit up baghdad in the Early Morning hours. Military officials have ben using the term shock and awe to describe the assault on iraq. Narrator zarqawi watched the american shock and awe campaign, and as the occupation began, zarqawi waited for an opportunity. Before long, the man george w. Bush picked to run iraq, l. Paul bremer, gave him one. And those who were on high before, in particular the baathists. Narrator he promised to purge the iraqi government. Will be removed from office. Narrator he also issued an order that disbanded the entire iraqi military. You had something on the order of 250,000 iraqi men, military age, all trained in using weapons. Suddenly, they were all out of a job. Narrator the powerful message saddam and his sunnicontrolled army were no longer in charge. Army was the central instrument of saddams repression of the kurds and the shia. I think the decision not to recall saddams army, from a political point of view, is the single most important correct decision that we made in the 14 months we were there. Narrator but on the ground, the American Military commanders could feel the effects. The effect, frankly, was devastating. I think thats where the seeds of what became the sunni insurgency were largely planted. We had, you know, long lines of soldiers demanding money, demanding to be rehired. There was that whole sense of, you know, militaries, defeated militaries should be treated with respect, and thats not what happened. Week after week after week, the big demonstrations got larger and larger. There was enormous concern because the demonstrations were out of hand. There were actually killings. They feel like theyre going to go by the wayside, that theyre going to be not only the minority population, but treated as if they dont ma. So they were easy targets for zarqawi to recruit. Narrator now Abu Musab Alzarqawi had his opportunity. explosion in the weeks that followed, the insurgency began. explosions when these sorts of attacks began, nobody was quite clear, i think, where they were coming from, who was behind them, and how sustainable they were. There has been another spam of violence in iraq. A car bomb killed at least five iraqis. Narrator in washington, they insisted everything was under control. Theres an absence of authority, a vacuum of authority for most people. I picked up a newspaper today and i couldnt believe it. I read eight headlines that talked about chaos, violence, unrest, and it just was henny penny, the sky is falling ive never seen anything like it. Its just unbelievable how people can take that away from what is happening in that country. Willful denial is one way of putting it. I mean, i remember, you know, thinking at the beginning, this is really, really strange. Its one thing to analyze the situation and then spin it; its another thing to then start to believe your spin. explosion narrator in august, the biggest bombing yet. A massive explosion to the jordanian embassy. Morning mayhem in baghdad. Terrorists exploded a truck outside the compound. This iraqi runs in, and i said, what happened . And he said, it was hit by a suicide bomber. I think that was the first one. To think that after that, there would be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of suicide bombers, thousands, even, its amazing. The bloodshed in iraq. Narrator it was zarqawis first major attack. The capitals worst day sie Saddam Hussein was toppled. Narrator then, less than two weeks later, a bomb at the United Nations headquarters. Zarqawi had a strategy. Hes just trying to leave it so that its only the United States military left, and its a black and white conflict. And this will enable him then to rally considerably more support to himself and to his cause. 40 people have died today in a series. The immediate effect of that was the u. N. Left and all the ngos were gone within a few weeks, all of them. And so it essentially left the americans alone. That was it. Its just you. It turned baghdad into a kind of eerie militarized ghost town. A u. S. Vehicle was on patrl when it came under attack. Violence has returned with a vengeance. Last night, two more soldiers killed. The most deadly was a car bombing that killed at least 11 people. Narrator in washington, bakos and other analysts sifted the evidence from the bombings. Soon, president george w. Bush received a briefing document written by bakos, but without her name attached. It outlined zarqawis role in the bombings. I wrote a president ial daily brief based on intelligence that we had received that zarqawi was responsible for some of the major initial attacks in 2003, that he was still there, and that he was looking to foment civil war. Narrator the information made its way to Scooter Libby in the vicepresident s office. phone dialing bakos says she