ISIS CALIPHATE. CHAPTER 1: CAMP BUCCA, THE UNIVERSITY OF JIHADISM. How Camp Bucca Incubated ISIS.

"The podcast describes how U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, following the 2003 invasion, unintentionally transformed into training centers for Islamic extremism. It examines the Abu Ghraib torture scandal and how the mass transfer of inmates to Camp Bucca allowed for unprecedented internal organization among prisoners. In this environment, former officers from Saddam Hussein’s army and jihadist militants forged a strategic alliance motivated by resentment toward the occupation. This union enabled key figures, including the future leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to establish networks and operational plans. Finally, sources conclude that these facilities functioned as a 'university of jihadism,' where radicalization became professionalized before the prisoners were released."