Islamic State conspiracy theories sway Iraqis
Past events in US-Iraqi relations and the prevalence of conspiracy theories spread by the media as well as politicians have led Iraqis to doubt the sincerity of the US fight against the Islamic State.
Mohammad Ali Ahmad, a newspaper vendor in Baghdad, expressed shock at some people’s belief that the United States will eliminate the Islamic State (IS). During a phone interview with Al-Monitor, Ahmad said that the United States had created IS and would not allow it to be destroyed. This belief is widespread among many Iraqis and other Arabs and is being reinforced by Iraqi and Arab media, which claim that the CIA was behind IS' establishment.
It is not only average Iraqi citizens who believe this, but politicians and journalists as well. A case in point is a website close to former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publishing a detailed article about a US-led conspiracy to create IS to deal blows to any government opposing Israel’s global policies and its own. Alforat satellite television, affiliated with the Islamic Supreme Council and opposed to Maliki’s politics, is on the same page. Since July 2014, it has been broadcasting stories claiming that the United States formed IS to weaken certain states and to gain control over them.
