Washington:
US President Barack Obama has said that the rise of the terror group, Islamic State (also known as IS/ISIS/ISIL) was an unintended outcome of the US invasion of Iraq, ordered by his predecessor George W. Bush in 2003.
In an interview with Vice News, Obama said the rise of Islamic State can be directly linked to America’s excursion into Iraq under Bush.
“Two things: One is, ISIL is a direct outgrowth of Al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion,” Obama said during the interview. “Which is an example of unintended consequences. Which is why we should generally aim before we shoot.”
He further said that he was convinced that the US-led 60 nation coalition would "slowly push back ISIS out of Iraq."
Obama added that fundamental problem, however, was that millions of young "disaffected Sunnis around the world" with no education or opportunities had been handed a religious basis to channel their frustration.