9/6/17 Patrick Cockburn on al-Qaeda’s resurgence in Syria

9/6/17 Patrick Cockburn on al-Qaeda’s resurgence in Syria

Author and journalist Patrick Cockburn returns to the show to discuss his reporting on the heavy casualties in Mosul and why they’ve been underreported in the media. Cockburn explains how ISIS’s guerrilla war tactics increase civilian casualties, why the Syrian Kurds fighting against ISIS in Raqqa have considerable incentive to extend the fight against ISIS, and discusses his latest article for the Independent on al Qaeda’s power grab in Syria, “While defeat of Isis dominates global attention, al-Qaeda strengthens in Syria,” which details the divisions between ISIS and al-Qaeda, and how while ISIS is being defeated in Syria and Iraq, al-Qaeda is gaining in strength. Finally, Cockburn addresses Turkey’s complicated role in backing and opposing jihadists in Syria and the latest fear of the United States of a growing “Shi’ite Crescent” linking Iran to Lebanon.

Patrick Cockburn is the Middle East correspondent for The Independent and the author of “The Age of Jihad” and “Chaos & Caliphate.”

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