The Rise of a Non-State Actor: A Critical Analysis of Power and Influence in Joby Warrick's Black Flags

Of the hundreds of global regions, one that I had been exposed to the least is the Middle East. While growing up, I still had yet to understand much more about Southwest Asia than viral reports of the infrastructural developments of bustling cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 

Now, much of this does not relate to the contents of American foreign affairs, but my lack of significant knowledge about this region would eventually meet with a certain task: a book report. 

To complete a U.S. History class, I was required to compile research surrounding a novel. Thus, after reviewing endless compilation of novel choices, I found one that had caught my eye: Joby Warrick’s Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS. 

I had an interest in the group that I had repetitively heard about but knew very little of. The little knowledge I had revolved around the San Bernardino attacks—where California residents pledging allegiance to ISIS had attacked a holiday work party and caused the deaths of over fourteen individuals—given my research in cybersecurity issues. Additionally, I felt that the history of the organization would allow me to delve into the recent history of the region.

Therefore, with little to no understanding of the organization's meaning, but an interest in its beginnings and global influence, I decided to choose it as my book.

Lessons from Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS

The Power of Persuasion in Belief Systems: 

A primary theme Warwick illustrates is the power of influence in belief systems and organizations. In the novel’s early chapters, Warrick explains the social dynamics within the al-Jafr prison in Jordan. Moreover, he details how one man in the prison environment, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, had the ability to alter the minds of those around him through his Jihadist teachings. 

He was placed in the Al-Jaft prison once being reopened in 1998, and it housed a new set of inmates, including Maqdisi. As I continued, I came to learn that Warrick utilizes this location to talk about the early beginnings of the influential figures that would lead to the creation of ISIS’s early predecessors. 

Through the perspective of Ibrahim, the former warden of the prison, Warrick describes Maqdisi as “a walking library of Islamic knowledge” (Warrick 17), and thus, was capable of transforming prison employees and others into converts of his jihadist beliefs. Much of this was due to his academic background. By the time he had reached southern Jordan in the 1990s, he had completed one of his many pieces of writing, Millat Ibrahim. 

Although Warrick explains Maqdisi is to be a primary influence of jihadist principles that fueled later organizations such as Al-Qaeda in Iraq and ISIS, additional contenders would later be emphasized as well. For instance, one of the central figures of the book’s first half, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is also portrayed as a figure of great influence. By doing so, Warrick continues building on his intent to demonstrate the significance of socio-psychological factors that influenced the rise of the non-state actor. 

Warrick’s initial mention of Zarqawi is around the same time as Maqdisi in the early chapters, and is described by Warrick as an apprentice to Maqdisi who had a strict dedication to Islam. Once being released in 1999, Warrick remains committed to illustrating his rise to being an influential power, explaining his creation of terrorist military camps; alliance with Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to create the Al-Qaeda in Iraq; and lastly, his declaration of his vision for a Islamic caliphate in his final years. 

The novel covers how, over the years, Zarqawi utilized the post-invasion state of Iraq as an environment to fuel his organizations. One of the many followers Zarqawi gained over the year was the second critical character of Warrick’s novel, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The final third of the novel covers many of the circumstances that allowed Baghdadi to bring Zarqawi's proposals of an influential organization to reality. Specifically, how Baghdadi took control of a group known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in 2010, four years after the death of Zarqawi, and restructured it to ensure success in instilling not only the violence that his predecessors exuded, but also establishing government systems that evolved it to form into a state. As I continued through the final chapters of the section, I’d realized that many of his contributions lead to the organization's current state today.

I found Warrick’s emphasis on this domain of thought to be insightful. Through his recollections of various interwoven events in the middle east, such as the 2005 Amman Wedding Bombing and murder of American diplomat Laurence Foley, I found a significant understanding for not just the motives of those associated with these organizations, but the psychological factors that had impacted them.

The Foreign Involvement in Middle East Conflicts:

Although I was aware of foreign involvement in the Middle East, I did not have an understanding revolving around the American actions following 9/11 in the region. Warrick covers many of these events, illustrating an American-stimulated Iraq War and the contributions to the Syrian Civil War, events that would further contribute to the power vacuum that Warrick claims ISIS could manipulate. 

Firstly, Warrick covers Iraq for a third of the book, spanning from the initial beginnings of U.S. occupation in 2003—fueled by beliefs of the state’s ties to terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and mass weaponry—to the state’s strike of Zarqawi in 2006. 

At the start of this section, I found one piece of context that surprised me: the relation between Iraqi civilians and the U.S. government sector workers. Once learning of these unfolding events, I presumed that the civilians would have a negative perspective towards the foreigners that aimed to change their homeland. But I learned that this relationship was far more complex. 

I initially realized this reality through Warrick’s interview with Nada Bakos, a former CIA Analyst and Targeting Officer. In the interview, she recalls that she was met with “smiles and shy waves of the early weeks of the operation” and later, “sudden stares and drawn shades” in Baghdad. By doing so, Warrick covers the optimism and hope the civilians had for changes, but with the continuation of mass destruction and killing, how it turned sour.  (Warrick 102). 

In the later chapters, continuing to learn of the social trends amongst the Iraqi civilians, I found the sections covering the U.S. Coalition Provision Authority’s decision to eliminate the Iraqi army to be increasingly significant. It contributed to the rise of ISIS due to its creation of a new group of unemployed men who became increasingly resentful and began to join terrorist organizations.

Lastly, in relation to American relations in Syria, Warrick shifts to the developments of the Syrian Civil War, and utilizes the perspective of former U.S ambassador to Syria, Robert S. Ford, to illustrate the events that would lead to the Syrian uprising. For context, Warrick includes details revolving around the Arab Spring protests in 2011, where pro-democratic movements were swarming across Middle Eastern states, which were fueled by widespread discontent showcased on digital platforms. Furthermore, the context of Syria, the Black Flags author highlights the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s aggression towards protestors in response. 

With a narrative established resolving the of the Syrian government’s resentful nature towards the calls of reform, Warrick covers Ford’s visit of the Syrian protest’s epicenter of Hama with French ambassador Eric Chavellier, highlighting American involvement as Ford claims to support the protestors efforts. Additionally, Warrick covers the additional impacts the American state had on developing the Syrian event, including the perspectives of the U.S. Secretary of State who broadcasted their negative opinions of Assad in response to the suppression of protests. 

Many of these events had occurred while I was very young, so learning about them decades later has been enticing, but it was daunting to know of the influence countries can have with each other, to the point that they are initiating reforms in countries that aren’t their own. Therefore, I could not help to imagine the complex emotions many felt during this period. 

Conclusion

Black Flags remained captivating throughout countless chapters, leaving me madly turning pages every minute. Much of this is due to Warrick’s utilization of narratives, such as the perspectives of diplomats, American and Jordanian government agency employees, Jordanian royalty, and Iraqi officials. These perspectives greatly improved my understanding of not only the novel’s events in detail, but how they had felt in real time.

Furthermore, these efforts helped transform the complex non-state actor to a broader audience that included readers such as myself. Lastly, I look forward to understanding more about the history of this region in the coming months as I cover new narratives.

Bibliography

Warrick, Joby. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS. Doubleday, 2015.

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Davidson, Eliass. "The Amman hotel bombings of 2005." ResearchGate, June 2019,

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