both the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the precursor to ISIS led by Zarqawi, and Ansar al-Islam were at the forefront of the jihadist element of the insurgency against the US occupation and the post-Saddam political order. These two factions at times co-operated and at other times clashed, yet both helped spread jihadism across Iraq and helped seed the infrastructure and environment that ISIS is now exploiting to devastating effect.

It is true to say that the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, namely the lack of a coherent post-war plan, created a vacuum which jihadist groups filled. It is also true to say that the alienation of the Sunni minority in Iraq, driven as much by Iranian influence and Nouri al-Maliki’s arrogance as US incompetence, helped createthe aftermath of the Arab Spring. This would have almost certainly created a vacuum which existing jihadist groups would have filled.

It is, therefore, important to acknowledge that whilst the invasion of Iraq did contribute towards creating an environment conducive to a jihadist insurgency, there were many other factors involved as well. The key factor, however, is the fact that since the mid-1990s Jihadism has spread across the world at an alarming rate.

Al-Qaeda began to seed jihadist factions, using its network of fighters in Afghanistan, across the Muslim world after the end of the Soviet occupation with a view to taking the fight to the West. A steady stream of deadly attacks on Western targets globally also began after this time. This included 1992 the bombing of the Gold