Al Qaeda is old news. Get ready for ISIS backlash in the UK, says founder of anti-extremist think ta

By Maajid Nawaz, Chairman Of Counter Extremism Think-tank, Quilliam

There is a new standard for global jihad. Through skilled publicity – in particular the professional use of social media – unprecedented brutality and conquest on the ground, ISIS has outmanoeuvred just about everyone, especially Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s ageing leader.

When 800 jihadis can defeat 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, there is only one explanation that rings true for potential jihadis everywhere:

God is on their side. It is now likely that malcontents from all over the world will flock to ISIS as the true heirs to Bin Laden’s legacy, bringing bloodshed and sectarian savagery on an unprecedented scale – and creating a new nerve centre to export terror to the West.
Threat: The group (some members pictured in front of an ISIS flag) will attract extremists from around the world who are willing to export terror to the US
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Threat: The group (some members pictured in front of an ISIS flag) will attract extremists from around the world who are willing to export terror to the US

The rise of ISIS in Iraq is a wider threat to the stability of the Middle East and the West than many realise. Al Qaeda is now yesterday’s news.

What we do next is crucial. Our action or inaction can easily make the situation worse. ISIS is ‘blow-back’ from our confused policy in Syria as much as it is from the invasion of Iraq, where the sectarian prime minister Nouri al-Maliki inadvertently facilitated ISIS by purging his government of Sunni Arabs, providing them with every reason to stand aside and watch as ISIS went on the rampage.

The greatest challenge is how to tackle the growing crisis.

First of all, direct Western military intervention would be extremely unwise in the current climate. That would be the greatest possible clarion call to unite jihadists under the ISIS banner.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2664713/Al-Qaeda-old-news-Get-ready-ISIS-backlash-UK-says-founder-anti-extremist-think-thank.html#ixzz35LrzpgVW
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