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With ISIS it's important to look at Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his group, Al Qaeda in Iraq (ISI). He formally broke his affiliation with Al Qaeda when Ayman al-Z
by dmschulman 12y ago
With ISIS it's important to look at Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his group, Al Qaeda in Iraq (ISI). He formally broke his affiliation with Al Qaeda when Ayman al-Zawahiri condemned ISI wanting to merge with groups in Syria (Jabhat al-Nusra in particular). A coalition of different groups from these regions make up ISIS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_al-Baghdadi#Expansion_into_Syria_and_break_with_al-Qaeda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_al-Baghdadi#Expansion_...
The affiliations sound like they were achieved organically, though who knows what's really going on behind closed doors.
- pyre 12y agoIt seems like Saudi-support for "groups destabilizing Syria" seems the most likely reason for "Saudi support of ISIS." It's not like supporting these groups has ever come back to bite the hand that supports it. Look at Pakistan. They are finally realizing the turning a blind eye to the Taliban (because they destabilize Afghanistan which acts as a buffer against India) might actually harm them too.