Anyone who has had half an eye on the Middle East has seen the footage: thousands of Iraqi citizens being marched along a dusty highway by terrorists toting AK-47s; burned-out humvees—the last remnant of government forces in northern Iraq; the ominous black banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (isis) fluttering over cities now experiencing the harsh realities of al Qaeda rule.

Then there are the mass graves. Opponents and innocent bystanders made to lie face down in a line in shallow graves—someone yells “Allahu akbar!” and the prisoners are riddled with bullets.

Welcome to Iraq: playground of terrorists.

It took the United States nine years to secure the country—from March 20, 2003, until the withdrawal on Dec. 18, 2011. Within the span of five months, isis seized half of it.

The move began on January 3, when isis forces captured large parts of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in the western Anbar province of Iraq. Since that time, terrorists, aided by the Kurdish uprising, have taken control of almost half of the country—sending government forces stumbling back to Baghdad in chaotic retreat.

While the ineptitude of the Iraqi Army is shameful, it is nothing compared to the shame of the U.S. administration, which was just as hasty in its withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.

isis is a living testimony to the complete foreign policy failure that has been the U.S. mission in Iraq. President Barack Obama has lauded the end of the Iraq War and the defeat of al Qaeda numerous times. But the sound of gunfire in Iraq today speaks louder than the president. If al Qaeda is defeated, how can an al Qaeda splinter group—not even the main body of the terrorist organization—currently be in control of half of Iraq?

The answer lies in America’s defeat and ignominious withdrawal from the country. The success of isis is directly linked to the failure of America.

isis rose from among the ranks of al Qaeda. For those who haven’t heard, al Qaeda is the terrorist group supposedly “decimated” by the U.S., as Mr. Obama claimed on Nov. 1, 2012.

The cold hard truth is, America did not win the war in Iraq, nor did U.S. forces decimate al Qaeda. True, the terrorist group was severely hamstrung by U.S. involvement in Iraq, but its activities were by no means stopped. That is why isis is alive and kicking today. Rather than face American troops, smaller groups such as isis focused the majority of their attention on areas beyond U.S. influence, such as Syria.

isis first started making itself known during the civil war in Syria. Originally named isi (the Islamic State of Iraq), the group began to play an increasing role in the Syrian conflict. The terrorists subsequently changed their name to isis (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group has been true to its name.

isis controls vast swaths of territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border. For the past few years, its troops have been hardened and battle-trained in both nations. Its extremist methods have also been refined. Other terrorist groups even consider the group “too extreme.”

Now with numbers, public support, sufficient arms and abundant finances, isis has turned its attention back to Iraq. Northern Iraq—with its morally defeated troops and angry Sunni population—was ripe for the picking. Despite U.S. training and equipment, Iraqi troops fled in the face of the far smaller terrorist force.

Had the U.S. not been so hasty in its withdrawal from Iraq, isis would not be knocking on the gates of Baghdad today. isis is the perfect example of what happens when a job is left unfinished. Rather than completely eradicate al Qaeda and all splinter groups, the U.S. must now deal with the richest terrorist organization in the world, which has come closer than any other to creating an Islamic state.

If anyone is looking for a sign that the U.S. has lost the Iraq War, isis is it. The U.S. goal was to topple Saddam Hussein and set up a democracy. isis is now inches away from toppling that democracy and establishing an Islamic state! The U.S. is now cooperating with Iran to aid the Iraqi government in fending off the terrorists.

Keep watching as isis and its fellow terrorists throughout the Middle East plunge the region into conflict and violence. Events in the region are moving at a blur. Keep on top of news coming from the region—it is building to World War iii. Watch Stephen Flurry’s latest Trumpet Daily, “America Urges Mortal Enemy to Save Iraq,” to grasp how dire the situation has become, and to see why the U.S. is unwilling to deal with isis.