Al-Qaeda Endorses ISIS, Suggesting Shifting Sentiment

US Attack on Nusra Likely Pushing al-Qaeda Into ISIS Orbit

Al-Qaeda’s positioning in Syria as a rival of ISIS has earned it a bizarre second lease on life in some peoples’ estimation, and even gave rise to the term “good al-Qaeda” referring to Jabhat al-Nusra, the official al-Qaeda wing in Syria, as opposed to ISIS, a former al-Qaeda wing turned independent faction.

That seems to be changing, however, with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), an al-Qaeda affiliate in good standing, issuing a statement today urging jihadists support ISIS against the United States.

It’s not quite the same thing as a statement from the parent al-Qaeda, but AQAP’s assessment is a reasonable facsimile, and suggests that even if the parent organization isn’t there yet, al-Qaeda is warming up to ISIS.

Which was perhaps inevitable, as the US war in Syria was launched against ISIS, but immediately expanded to include “Khorasan,” a US-invented term for Nusra, and gave the two groups another common enemy, and one who is attacking both at the same time.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.