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In reply to the discussion: A Question [View all]muriel_volestrangler
(101,160 posts)52. Juan Cole: Islamic State of Iraq & Levant too Extreme for al-Qaeda (Not the Onion)
By Juan Cole | Feb. 4, 2014
Ayman al-Zawahiri, now the leader of the international terrorist organization, al-Qaeda, has disavowed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ISIL (also called ISIS, substituting Syria for Levant) controls Falluja and part of Ramadi in Iraq, along with parts of Aleppo and its hinterland in Syria. It has been involved in a sanguinary battle with other Sunni extremist militias in northern Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra (the Succor Front) for several weeks, which has left 2000 dead at a time when the Baath regime of Bashar al-Assad has regrouped and launched assaults on the rebels. I found the Arabic text with an Arabic web site search but am not linking for obvious reasons.
Al-Zawahiri said, Al-Qaeda al-Jihad announces that it has no link to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It did not create it, did not invest it with authority, did not consult with it, and did not express approval of it. Rather, al-Qaeda ordered it to stop its actions. Therefore, it is not an al-Qaeda affiliate, no organizational relationship binds the two, and al-Qaeda is not responsible for its behavior.
...
The letter underlines what I have been saying for some time, which is that it is a mistake to see the so-called al-Qaeda affiliates as the same sort of phenomenon as core al-Qaeda. It is clear that ISIL does not have a reporting line to al-Zawahiri and has repeatedly just blown him off. The same is true of the other affiliates. These radical Sunnis just declare an al-Qaeda affiliation to increase the fear with which they are viewed. It isnt organizational, and al-Zawahiri has admitted as much. That isnt to deny that some core al-Qaeda operatives have occasionally shown up in the affiliates, or that al-Zawahiri tries to communicate to them. But he cant give them orders. Moreover, they are interested in the near enemy, in taking on regional leaders like Bashar al-Assad in Syria or PM Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq. With the exception of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen (AQAP), they dont seem interested in hitting US targets, and that kind of thing seems to have tapered off in AQAP in any case.
ISIL is a nasty piece of business, a kind of religious/ political license for serial killing. So is al-Qaeda. But that the latter is embarrassed about the former is telling.
http://www.juancole.com/2014/02/islamic-levant-extreme.html
Ayman al-Zawahiri, now the leader of the international terrorist organization, al-Qaeda, has disavowed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ISIL (also called ISIS, substituting Syria for Levant) controls Falluja and part of Ramadi in Iraq, along with parts of Aleppo and its hinterland in Syria. It has been involved in a sanguinary battle with other Sunni extremist militias in northern Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra (the Succor Front) for several weeks, which has left 2000 dead at a time when the Baath regime of Bashar al-Assad has regrouped and launched assaults on the rebels. I found the Arabic text with an Arabic web site search but am not linking for obvious reasons.
Al-Zawahiri said, Al-Qaeda al-Jihad announces that it has no link to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It did not create it, did not invest it with authority, did not consult with it, and did not express approval of it. Rather, al-Qaeda ordered it to stop its actions. Therefore, it is not an al-Qaeda affiliate, no organizational relationship binds the two, and al-Qaeda is not responsible for its behavior.
...
The letter underlines what I have been saying for some time, which is that it is a mistake to see the so-called al-Qaeda affiliates as the same sort of phenomenon as core al-Qaeda. It is clear that ISIL does not have a reporting line to al-Zawahiri and has repeatedly just blown him off. The same is true of the other affiliates. These radical Sunnis just declare an al-Qaeda affiliation to increase the fear with which they are viewed. It isnt organizational, and al-Zawahiri has admitted as much. That isnt to deny that some core al-Qaeda operatives have occasionally shown up in the affiliates, or that al-Zawahiri tries to communicate to them. But he cant give them orders. Moreover, they are interested in the near enemy, in taking on regional leaders like Bashar al-Assad in Syria or PM Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq. With the exception of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen (AQAP), they dont seem interested in hitting US targets, and that kind of thing seems to have tapered off in AQAP in any case.
ISIL is a nasty piece of business, a kind of religious/ political license for serial killing. So is al-Qaeda. But that the latter is embarrassed about the former is telling.
http://www.juancole.com/2014/02/islamic-levant-extreme.html
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Erect Bogeyman, wave flag, declare we need protection, give more money to the MIC.
Tierra_y_Libertad
Aug 2014
#1
Covering all of our bases, no matter which group we end up attacking, or both....
NYC_SKP
Aug 2014
#3
Edited subject line: Reagan met with the Mujahadeen but the quote is about the Contras in Nicaragua.
scarletwoman
Aug 2014
#39
You're not the only one wondering about this 'new, much meaner, more brutal remember the
sabrina 1
Aug 2014
#5
Yes, I remember the 'fat' Osama and the 'thin' Osama, the dark and the grey bearded
sabrina 1
Aug 2014
#56
The programming of America is at full throttle. The propaganda is rife on MSNBC today.
ChisolmTrailDem
Aug 2014
#9
I think they've told us so many stories, THEY can't remember who is who so you may
sabrina 1
Aug 2014
#40
al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the wheel. All inventions, but only one benefits humankind. nt
valerief
Aug 2014
#12
Yes, we must. You seem confused. "Reports that say...that something hasn't happened
Zorra
Aug 2014
#25
Evidently, you were not aware that the head imam in Saudi Arabia declared that ISIS . . .
Major Hogwash
Aug 2014
#29
Juan Cole: Islamic State of Iraq & Levant too Extreme for al-Qaeda (Not the Onion)
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2014
#52
It reminds me of the children's song: I know an old lady who swallowed a fly -
myrna minx
Aug 2014
#54