The installment of Ahmed Al-Sharaa as President of Syria in January 2025 reminded me of the two Battles of Fallujah in 2004. Al-Sharaa began his career with the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL), joining the group in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.
For those that don’t remember ISIL: the group was formed in 2004 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and was known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
US Marine Corps veterans remember Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as a key leader in the insurgency that fought the Marines during the two battles of Fallujah in 2004, which included some of the hottest house to house fighting in US Marine Corps history.
Indeed, the fighting got so fierce during the first battle in March 2004 that President Bush decided to pause it—ordering the Marines to pull back from the city and give up their initial gains—because it was creating political blowback in the US, and Bush was afraid it could hurt his reelection prospects. Two days after Bush was reelected in November, he sent the Marines back into the Fallujah meat grinder.
Not surprisingly, Iran’s influence in Iraq greatly expanded after the US overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003. The removal of Saddam’s Sunni-dominated government created opportunities for Shiite political parties, some of which had longstanding relationships with Tehran, to acquire political power. Since the US and Israel started attacking Iran in February, Iran-aligned Iraqi militias have responded by attacking American interests and targets associated with American regional allies.
With Trump apparently determined to keep the US government’s tradition of pointless killing and mess-making in the Middle East alive and well, it wouldn’t surprise me if he resumes bombing Iran after the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Please let me know what you think in the comments section.
IPAK-EDU is grateful to FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More
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