The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is a phenomenon so terrible and shocking, it seems impossible. It controls an area the size of the United Kingdom, commits mass atrocities, and launches terror attacks abroad. But to understand ISIS, it helps to tell the story of its rise. That story begins far away and many years before the group existed. In 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan to defend a puppet dictator against rebels. Young men from the Middle East flock in to join the rebels. Many see it as a religious struggle, and some develop extremist views. Among them is a well-educated young Saudi named Osama bin Laden. Also in Afghanistan is a semi-literate former street thug from Jordan who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They do not get along and never will, but will create the groups we today know as Al-Qaeda and as ISIS. The Soviets withdraw in 1989, and the Arab fighters eventually go home. Bin Laden grows Al-Qaeda into a global network to continue the struggle against Islam's enemies. Zarqawi forms his own group, but it fizzles. But both men later return to Afghanistan, now ruled by the Taliban. On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda attacks America from its base there. The US invades Afghanistan. Bin Laden flees to Pakistan. Zarqawi, still obscure, flees to a remote and lawless corner of Iraq. Two years later, the US does something that will transform the Middle East and set the stage for ISIS. My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. The Americans topple Saddam Hussein's secular, mostly Sunni dictatorship, and it disbands the Iraqi army. Thousands of Sunni Iraqi soldiers, angry and unemployed, join the insurgency. Jihadist groups, who are also Sunni, see this as a repeat of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and again they flood in to fight. Zarqawi is among them. Zarqawi's group eventually becomes Iraq's most ruthless. He especially attacks Shia, deliberately sparking a Sunni-Shia civil war. By 2004, Zarqawi is a jihadist superstar. Al-Qaeda, isolated and weakened, attempts to bolster its image by forming an alliance with Zarqawi's group, which becomes known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq. But in 2006, Iraq's Sunnis rise up against Zarqawi, and the US kills him in an airstrike. Over the next few years, Al-Qaeda in Iraq is largely defeated. The Americans withdraw in 2011 from an Iraq that finally looks stable. 2011, the Arab Spring spreads across the Middle East. In Syria, dictator Bashar al-Assad cracks down violently on protesters. They eventually fire back, leading to a civil war. Assad fears the world will intervene against him, so he releases jihadists in large numbers from Syrian prisons, tinging the rebels with extremism and making it harder for foreigners to back them. Back in Iraq, what little remains of Zarqawi's group is still allied with Al-Qaeda, but now known as the Islamic State in Iraq. It's led by a bookish religious scholar who calls himself Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In 2012, Baghdadi sends a top deputy to Syria to start a new Al-Qaeda branch to fight alongside the rebels, Jabhat al-Nusra. Baghdadi attacks a series of prisons in Iraq, frees former jihadists, and recruits new ones, growing stronger. In April 2013, Baghdadi announces he is taking control of all Al-Qaeda allied forces in Syria and Iraq. His group expands into Syria, becoming the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. But Al-Qaeda rejects Baghdadi's power grab, and in 2014, formally exiles him. The two jihadist groups, long at odds, are now at war. ISIS grows powerful in Syria, in part because Assad tolerates its rise, which he does because it divides his enemies within Syria, and because foreign powers are too focused on ISIS now to worry about Assad. By June 2014, ISIS has built an army in Syria, and it launches a military-style invasion into Iraq. The Iraqi army, weakened by corruption, folds with little fight. And many Sunnis are tired of their Shia-dominated and increasingly authoritarian government and welcome, or at least tolerate, ISIS's arrival. Within days, ISIS controls a third of Iraq and a big part of Syria. ISIS's goal is more audacious than anything imagined by Al-Qaeda: to revive the ancient caliphate and expand it to encompass all Muslims. It earnestly believes its holy war will then bring about the apocalypse as foretold in scripture. Thousands of Muslims, mostly from the Middle East and from Europe, flock to join the group. Some join for religious reasons, but many are just disillusioned or angry and feel that ISIS offers them answers and a purpose. But ISIS has quickly overreached. That August, it invades Kurdish territory in Iraq and Syria, sparking counterattacks from better-organized Kurdish forces. Launches a genocide against Iraqi Yazidis, and murders the American journalist James Foley on camera, outraging the world and provoking an American-led air campaign against it. ISIS can't withstand the onslaught and loses more than a fifth of its territory. But in response, it begins launching increasingly spectacular terror attacks abroad in Tunisia, Kuwait, Sinai, and then Paris. And so-called lone wolves inspired by ISIS propaganda also launch attacks, though they're often amateurish and less effective. Eventually, ISIS will lose its state. It is simply too weak, has no allies or outside funders, and is surrounded by enemies. But ISIS will respond by reverting to what it was before as Al-Qaeda in Iraq: an insurgency and a terror group still capable of horrifying violence. And in that form, it could be around for years.
A fast-paced montage of historical and news imagery related to ISIS is shown, including a photo of a man in a fez, an Arabic flag, and armed militants.
"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is a phenomenon so terrible and shocking, it seems impossible."
Setting: archival footage collage — varied
Text: "ISIS", "لا إله إلا الله"
A black and white map of the Middle East is shown. A rough, circular patch with Arabic writing on it appears over Iraq and Syria, representing ISIS territory. The view then cuts to a grainy, black and white shot of armed, masked militants.
"It controls an area the size of the United Kingdom, commits mass atrocities, and launches terror attacks abroad."
Setting: unspecified outdoor location — bright, outdoor
People (1):
• standing, facing the camera, wearing dark jackets and tactical vests and camouflage pants, covered hair — masked
An animated map of the Middle East and Central Asia is shown. The Soviet Union is highlighted in red with a hammer and sickle emblem. The camera zooms in on Afghanistan.
"That story begins far away and many years before the group existed."
Setting: animated map — even, illustrative
Text: "SOVIETS", "AFGHANISTAN"
A black and white photograph of a group of Mujahideen fighters is shown. They are holding various weapons and posing for the camera.
"Young men from the Middle East flock in to join the rebels."
Setting: Afghanistan (implied) — natural, daylight
People (1):
• posing for a group photo, wearing jackets and traditional robes and loose trousers, dark, some with mustaches hair — serious, some smiling
Text: "MUJAHIDEEN", "Those engaged in holy struggle"
A color photograph of a young, smiling Osama bin Laden is displayed. He has a long beard and is wearing a head covering.
"Among them is a well-educated young Saudi named Osama bin Laden."
Setting: Afghanistan (implied) — soft, natural
People (1):
• seated, looking slightly to the right, wearing light-colored collared shirt, long black beard hair — smiling broadly
Text: "Osama bin Laden"
A montage of images related to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi appears, including a black and white portrait photo, a photo of him armed, and an Arabic document. These are layered over the map of Afghanistan.
"Also in Afghanistan is a semi-literate former street thug from Jordan who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."
Setting: animated map — varied, illustrative
People (1):
• portrait, wearing light-colored shirt, short black hair, mustache, and beard hair — serious, stern expression
Text: "ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI"
A black map of the Middle East is shown. Portraits of Zarqawi and bin Laden appear, with lines pointing from Afghanistan to their future areas of operation. Text labels for ISIS and Al-Qaeda appear.
"but will create the groups we today know as Al-Qaeda and as ISIS."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• headshots — portraits of Zarqawi and bin Laden
Text: "ZARQAWI", "BIN LADEN", "ISIS", "Al Qaeda"
On the map, lines radiate out from Afghanistan, representing the spread of fighters. The camera then zooms in on the Arabian Peninsula where bin Laden's portrait is shown with the Al-Qaeda flag.
"Bin Laden grows Al-Qaeda into a global network to continue the struggle against Islam's enemies."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• headshot, black and grey beard hair — portrait of Osama bin Laden
Text: "Jihadists form networks", "1990s"
A rapid montage shows archival footage of the World Trade Center, a plane flying towards the towers, and mugshots of the hijackers. This is followed by a map showing a line from Afghanistan to New York City.
"On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda attacks America from its base there."
Setting: New York City — daylight
People (1):
• headshots — mugshots of 9/11 hijackers
Text: "9/11", "2001"
An American flag appears over Afghanistan on the map. Bin Laden's portrait moves to Pakistan, and Zarqawi's portrait moves to Iraq.
"The US invades Afghanistan. Bin Laden flees to Pakistan. Zarqawi, still obscure, flees to a remote and lawless corner of Iraq."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "US invades Afghanistan", "2001"
A portrait of George W. Bush appears over North America. Animated jets fly from the US towards Iraq on the map. News footage of explosions in Baghdad at night is shown.
"My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome."
Setting: animated map / Baghdad, Iraq — varied
People (1):
• speaking from a podium, wearing dark suit jacket, white shirt, grey hair — speaking seriously
Text: "US invades Iraq", "2003"
An image of Saddam Hussein appears next to an American flag over Iraq. Below it, an image of the Iraqi army is shown, which then gets a 'disbanded' graphic over it.
"The Americans topple Saddam Hussein's secular, mostly Sunni dictatorship, and it disbands the Iraqi army."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• pointing, wearing dark suit, black hair and mustache hair — portrait of Saddam Hussein
Text: "SADDAM", "IRAQI ARMY"
On the map, a black cloud labeled 'Sunni insurgency' appears in Iraq. Lines then fly from all over the Middle East into this cloud, representing the influx of foreign fighters.
"Jihadist groups, who are also Sunni, see this as a repeat of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and again they flood in to fight."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "Jihadists arrive"
A photo of a destroyed mosque is shown. The map of Iraq is then color-coded to show the sectarian divide: yellow for Kurd, red for Sunni, and green for Shia.
"He especially attacks Shia, deliberately sparking a Sunni-Shia civil war."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "Jihadists attack Shia", "2004", "KURD", "SUNNI", "SHIA"
The portrait of Zarqawi is shown with the Al-Qaeda flag appearing below him, forming the logo for 'Al Qaeda in Iraq'.
"Al-Qaeda, isolated and weakened, attempts to bolster its image by forming an alliance with Zarqawi's group, which becomes known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• headshot — portrait of Zarqawi
Text: "Al Qaeda in Iraq", "AQI is formed"
A silhouette of a jet flies over the map and drops a bomb on Zarqawi's portrait, which explodes in a cloud of smoke.
"But in 2006, Iraq's Sunnis rise up against Zarqawi, and the US kills him in an airstrike."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "Zarqawi killed", "2006"
The black cloud representing the insurgency over Iraq on the map shrinks and dissipates. The American flag graphic is removed.
"The Americans withdraw in 2011 from an Iraq that finally looks stable."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "US leaves Iraq", "2011"
Green splotches appear on the map over North Africa and parts of the Middle East, indicating the locations of the Arab Spring uprisings.
"2011, the Arab Spring spreads across the Middle East."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "Arab Spring", "2011"
On the map, a portrait of Bashar al-Assad appears over Syria, along with an image of protesters. This is then replaced by an image of armed rebels against a red background.
"In Syria, dictator Bashar al-Assad cracks down violently on protesters. They eventually fire back, leading to a civil war."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• headshot, wearing dark suit, short black hair hair — portrait of Bashar al-Assad
Text: "Syrian Civil War", "ASSAD", "REBELS"
The camera focuses on the remnant of the AQI insurgency in Iraq. A new leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is introduced with a portrait and a graphic for 'ISI'.
"Back in Iraq, what little remains of Zarqawi's group is still allied with Al-Qaeda, but now known as the Islamic State in Iraq."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• speaking at a podium, wearing black robes, long black beard hair — speaking into a microphone
Text: "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi", "ISI"
An arrow extends from the ISI graphic in Iraq to the rebels in Syria. A new graphic for 'Jabhat al-Nusra' appears, linked to the Syrian rebels.
"In 2012, Baghdadi sends a top deputy to Syria to start a new Al-Qaeda branch to fight alongside the rebels, Jabhat al-Nusra."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "Jabhat al-Nusra", "2012"
The ISI graphic expands to cover parts of Syria, and the text changes from 'ISI' to 'ISIS'.
"In April 2013, Baghdadi announces he is taking control of all Al-Qaeda allied forces in Syria and Iraq. His group expands into Syria, becoming the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• speaking — portrait of Baghdadi
Text: "ISI becomes ISIS", "2013"
On a black background, the logos for Jabhat al-Nusra (labeled Al-Qaeda) and ISIS are shown facing each other with a 'VS' graphic between them.
"But Al-Qaeda rejects Baghdadi's power grab, and in 2014, formally exiles him. The two jihadist groups, long at odds, are now at war."
Setting: graphic space — graphic
Text: "JABHAT AL NUSRA (AL-QAEDA)", "ISIS"
The map shows Assad's portrait in a circle, with red lines extending from ISIS towards the Syrian rebels (Jabhat al-Nusra), indicating ISIS is fighting Assad's enemies for him.
"ISIS grows powerful in Syria, in part because Assad tolerates its rise, which he does because it divides his enemies within Syria,"
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• headshot — portrait of Assad
Text: "ASSAD"
A large black and brown area representing ISIS-controlled territory rapidly expands from Syria into a large portion of northern and western Iraq on the map.
"By June 2014, ISIS has built an army in Syria, and it launches a military-style invasion into Iraq."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "ISIS sweeps Iraq", "2014"
A world map is shown with a large black area with the ISIS flag emblem spreading out from the Middle East to cover Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia.
"ISIS's goal is more audacious than anything imagined by Al-Qaeda: to revive the ancient caliphate and expand it to encompass all Muslims."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
A bar chart appears showing the origin of ISIS foreign fighters. The largest bars are for the Middle East and Northern Africa, followed by Western Europe.
"Thousands of Muslims, mostly from the Middle East and from Europe, flock to join the group."
Setting: graphic space — even, graphic
Text: "ORIGIN OF ISIS FOREIGN FIGHTERS"
On the map, the ISIS territory pushes into an area labeled 'Kurds'. A red triangle representing the Kurds pushes back against the ISIS advance.
"That August, it invades Kurdish territory in Iraq and Syria, sparking counterattacks from better-organized Kurdish forces."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "ISIS attacks Kurds", "KURDS"
A photo shows Yazidi refugees walking through a desert landscape. The map then shows an American jet graphic appearing and bomb icons falling on the ISIS territory.
"launches a genocide against Iraqi Yazidis, and murders the American journalist James Foley on camera, outraging the world and provoking an American-led air campaign against it."
Setting: Iraqi desert — bright, harsh sunlight
People (1):
• walking in a long line, wearing shirts, t-shirts and trousers, shorts — strained, tired
Text: "Murder of James Foley"
On the map, explosion graphics appear over Europe and North Africa, representing terror attacks. The map of Europe is highlighted in white.
"But in response, it begins launching increasingly spectacular terror attacks abroad in Tunisia, Kuwait, Sinai, and then Paris."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
Text: "ISIS strikes abroad", "2015"
The dark brown territory representing ISIS on the map begins to shrink and recede.
"Eventually, ISIS will lose its state. It is simply too weak, has no allies or outside funders, and is surrounded by enemies."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
The shrinking ISIS territory on the map transforms into a single silhouette of a masked militant holding a rifle, representing a shift back to insurgency.
"But ISIS will respond by reverting to what it was before as Al-Qaeda in Iraq: an insurgency and a terror group still capable of horrifying violence."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• standing, ready, wearing dark clothing, covered hair — masked
The camera slowly zooms out from the silhouette of the militant on the map of Syria and Iraq.
"And in that form, it could be around for years."
Setting: animated map — illustrative
People (1):
• standing, wearing dark clothing, covered hair — masked
The screen splits, showing credits on a green background on the right, and a subscribe call-to-action on a purple background on the left.
Setting: end screen — graphic
Text: "VIDEO BY JOHNNY HARRIS WORDS BY MAX FISHER", "MUSIC "WAITING FOR YOUR FATE" (APM) ...", "Subscribe", "Syrian Civil War in 5 minutes"