These days, the terrorist organization known as ISIS has much of the world on high alert. How this happened is the subject of a book by today’s guest, Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick.
In “Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS,” Mr. Warrick traces the history of ISIS back to its founder, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. During the Iraqi War, Zarkawi managed to turn a couple dozen misfits, extremists and thugs in a Jordanian prison into a terrorist army that is again thriving. Today, ISIS continues to spread its brand of militant Islam, raising its banner over large swaths of Syria and Iraq.
Joby Warrick joined the Washington Post’s national staff in 1996. He has covered national security, intelligence and the Middle East, and currently writes about the environment.
Prior to his work at The Washington Post, Warrick reported for The News and Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
“Black Flags” was named a best book of 2015 by The New York Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other publications. Mr. Warrick also
is the author of “The Triple Agent,” about the Camp Chapman attack in Afghanistan in December of 2009, which resulted in the murder of seven CIA employees by a suicide bomber.