In a recent opinion piece for The New York Times, Distinguished Scholar Dr. Jeremi Suri and Andrew Thompson, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and former student, argue that the U.S.’s detention policies in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq helped to create the current crises in Iraq and Syria. In the piece, “How America Helped ISIS,” Suri and Thompson explain that the use of large detention facilities that group together violent radicals and moderate detainees in the same space, “only create the seeds for further radicalization and violence.”

Many of the ISIS fighters the U.S. is currently combating in the Middle East deepened their extremism during their time in prisons like Camp Bucca. Suri and Thompson call these camps “terrorist universities,” arguing that hardened radicals were able to spread their beliefs to more moderate detainees. As the U.S. expands its military actions in Iraq and Syria, Suri and Thompson caution against mixing radicals and moderates in the region’s prisons, repeating the same mistakes that were made in the past. Instead, they suggest the creation of alternate facilities for small-scale criminals and other efforts to avoid mass incarcerations. The article can be read in full here.

A number of media outlets covered Suri’s op-ed, including The Washington Post, The International Business Times, The Star.com, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Daily Mail. Suri also appeared on CNN to discuss his op-ed further. The segment, “They went from inmates to ISIS” can be found here and below.