Isis Vs. Al Qaeda

Terrorist organizations

Terrorism has always attempted to strike fear into innocent people through different tactics; however, no one has taken these people lightly. Terrorism doesn't just have a set of rules they follow they will use any means necessary to accomplish the mission. The groups operate without any morals or standards. Women and children in these certain groups of people aren't the most valuable resource to protect but are much easier to use as human shields and suicide bombers. Through constant persecution from the modern day terrorist group, people began to dig deeper into their past, compare and contrast the terror groups, and analyze the countries who fight the terrorists.

“The word 'terrorism' entered into European languages

They have many differences in tactics, strategies, and motives. “The stark contrast between Al Qaeda's large-scale, dramatic attacks and ISIS' slow territorial conquest also reflects the differences between the two organizations' ultimate goals” (Bertrand). “Whereas al Qaeda's primary enemy has always been the United States, ISIS targets are much closer to home: Namely, apostate Shi'ite regimes such as Bashar Assad's government in Syria and Haider al-Abadi's in Iraq that impede the creation of a "pure", radically sectarian Islamic state” (Bertrand). The brutality that each organization displays are very different. “ISIS has gained international attention by beheading prisoners and enemies and then posting pictures of the violence on social media. Al Qaeda, in contrast, has shunned that practice because it risks turning off less extreme Sunnis and other Muslims from sympathizing with their cause” (Wong). The beheading has been used to strike fear into the people that oppress Isis, but Al Qaeda has stopped beheading to help strength there cause. ISIS is more popular with young people. ISIS now has more followers than al Qaeda because of the recruitment boom to Syria. Al Qaeda has also suffered heavy losses from defection or destruction. Intelligence officials say there are more than 30,000 ISIS followers, while experts believe al Qaeda's formal membership is much smaller. ISIS has also attracted followers because it has pursued an Islamic state, and has territory to show for it. ISIS has also gained popularity with the young by embracing social media, while al Qaeda stuck to more traditional recruiting methods. “Al Qaeda has attacked the US. ISIS has not. ISIS has made clear it wants to attack the U.S., whereas al Qaeda already has. For that reason, al Qaeda is still considered the recognized leader of the global jihadist movement. Since the 9/11 attack, al Qaeda