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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Al-Qaeda affiliate changes its name, escapes US and Canada terror lists

May 15, 2017 8:56 am By Robert Spencer

Osama bin Laden foresaw how this would fool the establishment Infidel counterterror “experts”: “In the years immediately after 9/11, bin Laden knew worldwide sentiment fell in favor of the United States so he spread al Qaeda’s mission of hate — all while avoiding using the words ‘al Qaeda,’ said terror analyst Ali Soufan. “So each one of the affiliates we start seeing calling themselves a totally different name that al Qaeda is not even part of the sentence.”

And look how well it worked. Lord, what fools these kuffar be.

“Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate escapes from Canada’s terror list,” by Evan Dyer, CBC News, May 14, 2017 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

The Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, currently calling itself Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has succeeded in getting itself off Canada’s list of designated terrorist entities following its latest identity shift.

That complicates the task of prosecuting Canadians who travel to join the group, send it money or propagandize on its behalf.

It also illustrates the pitfalls of Canada following the lead of the U.S. in designating terror groups.

HTS escapes being listed at a time when it is absorbing other jihadi groups and attracting more recruits, even as the Islamic State retreats on multiple fronts.

HTS has a history of renaming itself and altering its structure to confuse outsiders, and the Syrian population, about its true affiliations. But until now, few observers have accepted its claims to have distanced itself from its parent organization.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (the Organization for Conquest in the Levant) began life as an expeditionary force called Jabhat al-Nusra (the Support Front), despatched into Syria in 2011 by the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, now “caliph” of the Islamic State (ISIS). Jabhat al-Nusra was led by Syrian jihadist Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani.

The United States put the group on its terrorist list in 2012, as the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, and Canada followed suit.

Al-Baghdadi soon crossed into Syria himself, renouncing his allegiance to al-Qaeda and founding ISIS in April 2013.

Al-Jawlani’s group remained loyal to the mother organization founded by bin Laden, and Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS have been at each other’s throats ever since. Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition focused its bombing on Islamic State, not al-Nusra.

Rebels from al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front wave their brigade flag as they step on the top of a Syrian air force helicopter, at Taftanaz air base in 2013. As al-Nusra, the group was on the terrorist list, but al-Nusra has disappeared. (Associated Press)

While ISIS made headlines and enemies across the world, al-Nusra flourished.

It has carried out numerous suicide bombings, forced religious conversions, destroyed ancient shrines and enacted brutal punishments, including the stoning of women.

In early 2015, al-Qaeda’s international leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, thought to be hiding in Pakistan, set al-Nusra free of its formal subordination to al-Qaeda.

“The brotherhood of Islam that exists among us is stronger than any passing or changing organizational ties,” he said in a taped statement, instructing the group to integrate itself into the wider Syrian revolt. Al-Nusra changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of the Levant), and continued to gobble up other Syrian jihadi groups, often by force.

But the West wasn’t buying it. The U.S. and Canada simply added the new name as another alias of al-Nusra on their terrorist listings.

Both countries are normally careful to capture all the aliases of terrorist groups, including minor variations in spelling and punctuation. (Islamic State has 46 permutations of its name listed by Public Safety Canada; al-Nusra has six).

But then in January of this year, the group shifted again, nominally dissolving itself and joining with four other jihadi groups. It altered its name, changing the word “Jabhat” (Front) to “Hay’at” (Organization), and “Fateh” (Conquest) to “Tahrir” (Liberation).

The military commander of the group continues to be al-Jawlani, whom the U.S. has branded a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. On Wednesday, the U.S. government posted a $10-million reward for him. The reward notice states that al-Nusra is “at the core of HTS,” which is led by a triumvirate that also includes Egyptian Abu Khayr al-Masri, the number two of the global al-Qaeda organization.

And yet HTS has not been designated in the U.S. Canada, which usually follows the U.S. listing closely, has also not listed the group.

The change is significant, and the U.S. State Department confirmed to CBC News that HTS members are no longer considered terrorists.

The State Department did issue a statement in March, in Arabic only, branding HTS a terrorist group. But the State Department’s Nicole Thompson told CBC that was a mistake.

“Though closely affiliated with al-Nusra, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham is not a designated terrorist organization,” she said in an email. “The statement you found should have said al-Nusrah Front and has been corrected.”

Al-Nusra, however, no longer exists….

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Filed Under: Al-Qaeda, Featured Tagged With: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Nusra Front


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Comments

  1. concerned canadian says

    May 15, 2017 at 9:05 am

    The People’s Front of Judea !!!

  2. John A. Marre says

    May 15, 2017 at 9:31 am

    Shows the complete stupidity of the people who have the obligation to protect us.

  3. SK says

    May 15, 2017 at 9:47 am

    Who here remembers when Qatar was pushing Nusra Front as a “moderate” rebel faction?

  4. mortimer says

    May 15, 2017 at 9:49 am

    Jihad of the TONGUE (taqiyya) and jihad of the PEN (publication and lawfare) are parts of jihad that TRICK, DECEIVE and PULL THE WOOL OVER the eyes of the dirty kufaar.

    Muslims do not hesitate to lie about jihad, because it is normative Islam.

  5. jewdog says

    May 15, 2017 at 1:23 pm

    A jihadi by any other name would smell as rotten, and a government bureaucrat by any other name would be as dimwitted.

  6. rara says

    May 15, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    I wouldn’t be surprised that the reason HTS has not been designated in the U.S. and Canada as a terrorist group is because the U.S. and Canada want to cooperate (as in “send them weapons”) again with the “moderates” (as in “any Islamists that aren’t stupid enough to call themselves ISIS or some name on our list”) who do the dirty job of fighting against Assad.

  7. underbed cat says

    May 15, 2017 at 2:04 pm

    Clever .. but it should be common knowledge for all generals and leaders. Islamic terror groups all follow the doctrine. This is why the liberal left is dangerous…..in their fantasy Islam clueless.

    described while the outreach taps senator, republicans city leaders, sheriff departments to visit for peace and understanding…cookies and cream and subversion targets.

    • underbed cat says

      May 15, 2017 at 2:23 pm

      Heart of Islam is Saudi Arabia….Trump just meet with a Prince Abu Dabi….who according to Trump loves our country? Great….as they move in mosques in every city to subvert the government and will smile until they decide they are in charge and own us. I am very disturbed by this revelation of a hook, line and sinker that Donald fell for the 1400 year method of deception. Who flew those planes to NY…..just radicals??/ Now what?

  8. robert_k says

    May 15, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    The PLO also used to a terrorist organization now it’s Hamas. The infidels are clueless.

  9. steve brown says

    May 15, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    CAIR will do this and laugh all the way to their jihad paradise.

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