No problem. It’s not detailed, really. This is just a more or less vague explanation of the overall state of things. But I would look more into countries like Libya and Iraq to see how the countries devolved into chaos.

Alternatively, you can also look at Latin American countries for a similar phenomenon in a more industrialized context. In this case, many of the founding members of prominent cartels were once government officials, trained by the US to run fascist dictatorships. These guys were promised power, control, luxury, and protection if they can murder communists and undermine their movements. Look up School of the Americas, Operation Condor, and Years of Lead (in Latin America), Iran-Contra, the historic intelligence agencies of Mexico and Chile.

Even when the fascists branched away from government and became narcos, communists were still a threat to the government and cartels (as the communists were against both), which resulted in back room deals with the Latin American governments, cartels, and CIA. These have more explicit US dealings, and I imagine it’s because infrastructure exists to allow for it (like cartel guys will mingle with celebrities and politicians at clubs and boardrooms) compared to terrorist groups in the Middle East being isolated in remote areas and bases.

However, recruiting Islamic terrorists also have an extra challenge (or maybe not challenge depending on your goals) of religion and oftentimes nationalism, whereas cartels are just for profit. You don’t exactly need to convince a potential cartel member of anything besides money and girls (maybe revenge), but in the Middle East, people are devoted to religion (and even if they aren’t, they must be perceived as being devout), and sometimes religion is the only thing available because no other infrastructure or community exists, and they have governments all over the world dropping bombs on them - coming in and presenting your shadowy agenda won’t cut it because they see you as an enemy based on everything they’ve been taught and seen. Cartels are buddy-buddy with the west and romanticized, and so as a result, you can show them your agenda and they’ll consider it.

Besides, cartels know the US won’t really invade and occupy much whereas they already are in the Middle East. The US just needs to keep its image of law and order at home WRT cartels, but with Islamic terrorists they have boots on the ground and conducting military operations alongside intelligence.