There is a popular narrative along that line, but no. It is quite clear that this wasn't their goal.
Their plan was to lead the USA into a war in the Middle East. There they would demonstrate that we could hit hard but had no staying power, and so could be beaten. Once that was demonstrated, they would be able to create a religious caliphate that could sweep away the corrupt secular rulers that were oppressing Muslims and recreate the religious empire that used to exist.
We in fact gave them the war that they wanted in Iraq. We did hit hard. We were then sucked into a protracted operation. And as we looked to exit they created the caliphate and named it ISIS. It has since been defeated. Even if things are not going as we hoped in the Middle East, they are more dramatically not going as they hoped either.
Their plan was to lead the USA into a war in the Middle East. There they would demonstrate that we could hit hard but had no staying power, and so could be beaten. Once that was demonstrated, they would be able to create a religious caliphate that could sweep away the corrupt secular rulers that were oppressing Muslims and recreate the religious empire that used to exist.
We in fact gave them the war that they wanted in Iraq. We did hit hard. We were then sucked into a protracted operation. And as we looked to exit they created the caliphate and named it ISIS. It has since been defeated. Even if things are not going as we hoped in the Middle East, they are more dramatically not going as they hoped either.
For an explanation of how we know that this was their goal all along, read https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Secret-War-Worldwide-Struggl....