Thanks to ISIS, the U.S. and al Qaeda are fighting on the same side

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

last updated 9 June 2015

In an article that exemplifies how thoroughly the rise of the Islamic State has scrambled the geopolitics of the Middle East, Ben Hubbard of The New York Times reports that al Qaeda affiliates are forging alliances with local rebel groups in Yemen and Syria that put al Qaeda on the same side as the U.S.:

In recent weeks, the Qaeda affiliate in Yemen has allied with armed tribes to fight Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, putting that alliance on the same side of the country's civil war as the United States and Saudi Arabia. In Syria, Qaeda-allied fighters are important members of a rebel coalition against President Bashar al-Assad that includes groups supported by the West.This strategy has clear benefits for a group that has long been near the top of the United States' list of enemies by allowing it to build local support while providing some cover against the threat of foreign military action. [The New York Times]