Dr. Wilfried Buchta

"The womb he crawled from is still going strong". Brecht's much-quoted closing words from his gangster parable play still apply today, as the ISIS terrorist attacks in Nice and Vienna in fall 2020 proved once again. Although from a military standpoint, the terroristic organization has been defeated and forced into hiding in both Syria and Iraq, the Islamist terrorist organization has still kept its organizational structures as well as propaganda and recruitment networks intact. This way it can carry out deadly attacks against the hated western states of infidels and their allies at any time. But isn't information provided by the latest news alone enough to understand ISIS and the political and religious dynamics surrounding the terror organization? No. Not even close. Because if you really want to know how ISIS was formed, where it operates and what mortal fears motivate the group, you have to take a closer look at Iraq. The very country in which ISIS was created after the US invasion of 2003 and from where it was able to declare its cross-border terror caliphate in Iraq and Syria. But why Iraq? After its invasion and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's decade-long dictatorship, didn't the USA plan to set an example for a stable nation and lend their support to rebuild it as a democratic country? But instead all hope was crushed, and the opposite became true. To this day, there is no trace of peace, political stability and functioning democratic structures. Instead, crises, corruption and confession conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis have become the new norm, that continues to push the country to the brink of collapse. In this book, Wilfried Buchta, who himself worked as Senior Political Analyst of the UN in Iraq from 2005 to 2010, describes the fatal events that have impacted the country from its foundation in 1918 to today and why the USA failed.

Content

• Like a phoenix from the ashes: The return of the "Islamic State".
• Past that does not want to pass: Religious divisions in Islam.
• From monarchs, dictators and wars: Iraq in the 20th century.
• From Clinton to George W. Bush to the US invasion: Washington’s political Iraq strategy.
• Washington opens Pandora's box: The US civil administration in Iraq.
• Elections, a still-born constitution and civil war: Transfer of power in Iraq.
• Maliki's comeback, the withdrawal of US troops and the marginalization of the Sunnis: The government of Nuri al-Maliki.
• How Iraq's Hydra of Terror was created: The story of the "Islamic State".
• Quo vadis? The Middle East, the United States, and Europe today.
• Afterword
• Literature
• Notes

Some of the book's press reviews:

09/28/2015 / Parliament (Bonn)

»Wilfried Buchta is one of the most knowledgeable experts in his field when it comes to the current developments in Iran and Iraq. An outstanding book.«

12.06.2015 / zenith online

"Understand the »Islamic State«. »Terror at Europe's Gates« is a real gem, a book, that sets the bar high for other books on the region."

Moritz Behrendt

05/21/2015 / Berliner Zeitung

Where the Islamic State really came from "An excellent analysis of the caliphate's fundamentals."

Martina Doering

05/30/2015 / Deutschlandradio Kultur, Lesart

"Buchta has been able to write an outstanding book on Iraq. This is a new and extremely informative must-read for all readers who want to really dive into the collapse of the country."

Jan Kuhlmann