BAGHDAD, Iraq â At the mention of Caliph Ibrahim, leader of the self-declared Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Abu Mustafa points at his chest and nods. âIbrahim my friend,â he says. Abu Mustafa says proudly that Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, has been peaceful since its conquest by the fighters of what used to be known as ISIS. He tells me his own ties to them go back to the days after the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, when he fought against the Americans alongside ISISâs progenitor, Al Qaeda in Iraq. He says the Americans arrested him eight times; an Internet search of his real name turns up one prison record. âLife in Mosul is very normal,â says Abu Mustafa. Christians there are treated well, prices are low and people are safe and happy, he says, a description completely at odds with news reports and firsthand accounts describing a reign of terror against anyone in the city who hasnât sworn loyalty to the caliph. He seems to believe what heâs saying and performs the groupâs public relations not just to blow smoke into the journalistâs eyes, but because he honestly hopes to see the caliph succeed in conquering Baghdad. And then, after the victory, he expects to see the caliphate destroyed. more . . . Seems to be a pattern here for empire builders: The Roman, the Austro-Hungarian, the Ottoman, the British, the German, the Soviet. Just one reprise after another.