The satirical news website cautioned the Iraq War would fuel “a million bin Ladens.”

USA inc. — In March 2003, shortly after the U.S. invaded Iraq, a notorious news outlet foretold the war would be a enormous catastrophe that would ultimately destabilize the Middle East and power the rise of anti-Western forces prepared to die for a fundamentalist cause.

That outlet was The Onion. And the satirical news site pinned it.

In a point-counterpoint op-ed titled “This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t,” the fictional Nathan Eckert eerily detailed a world in which newly radicalized militants motivated by hate, much like the Islamic State, rise up after the war and acquire weapons of mass destruction to attempt to drive out Western influence.

“If you thought Osama bin Laden was bad, just wait until the countless children who become orphaned by U.S. bombs in the coming weeks are all grown up. Do you think they will forget what country dropped the bombs that killed their parents?” stated Eckert. “In 10 or 15 years, we will look back fondly on the days when there were only a few thousand Middle Easterners dedicated to destroying the U.S. and willing to die for the fundamentalist cause.”

He included, “From this war, a million bin Ladens will bloom.”

The counterpoint, from another made-up dude named Bob Sheffer, was not as persuasive.

“No it won’t,” he stated.

“Trust me, it’s all going to work out perfect. Nothing bad is going to happen. It’s all under control,” Sheffer revealed. “Why do you keep saying these things? I can tell when there’s trouble looming, and I really don’t sense that right now. We’re in control of this situation, and we know what we’re doing. So stop being so pessimistic.”

All BS set aside, it was not difficult to see that the Iraq war ran the risk of an Islamic State-level expansion of militants. The Huffington Post reported in May on how President George W. Bush’s mismanagement of Iraq motivated thousands of skilled Iraqis to take their experience to the anti-American insurgency that ultimately became the Islamic State.

Examine the complete Onion article here.