Al-Qaeda affiliate’s desperate 'switch' validates US Syria policy

Author:
Week in Review

The announcement by Jabhat al-Nusra on July 28 that it was severing ties with al-Qaeda may be a sign of the terrorist organization’s increasing desperation. Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian forces have now encircled east Aleppo, where Jabhat al-Nusra and its Aleppo Conquest coalition allies have instituted brutal Sharia rule, as documented by Amnesty International. US-Russian negotiations may soon produce an agreement on military coordination that would bring further bad news for what is now called the Front for the Conquest of Syria, or Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

The roll-out by Jabhat al-Nusra of its new brand would have been laugh-out-loud funny if there was a place for humor when dealing with the al-Qaeda affiliate and its bloody record in Syria and worldwide. Ahmed Hassan Abu al-Khayr, the deputy to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, announced that Zawahri had ordered the split “for the good of Islam and the Muslims.”

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