The Rise of ISIS and the Fall of Al Qaeda

A string of quick military successes for ISIS in Iraq has legitimized the group as a new leader of the jihadi movement. The group controls Tikrit, Mosul and many other smaller towns in Iraq and Syria – and nears Baghdad. The success “could be a harbinger of a tectonic shift within the jihadi movement,” suggests Barak Mendelsohn in Foreign Affairs. By comparison, Al Qaeda’s influence is diminished by its radical offshoot: “the groups have serious differences when it comes to strategy, tactics, and Islamic authority,” he writes. “They differ on issues such as the implementation of harsh Islamist laws, the killing of Shia civilians, and the right of one group to impose its authority over all others.” ISIS initially received funds directed toward the Syrian rebels; robbed banks; and looted US weapons, left over from the Iraq war, distributed to pro-government forces that quickly surrendered in Mosul. ISIS started small, but victories have added funding, recruits and reinforcements. – YaleGlobal