CIA Chief Brennan Called Al-Qaeda Caliphate 'Absurd,' But They Just Allegedly Seized a City of 100K

In 2011, Obama-appointed CIA Director, John Brennan, gave a speech which focused on ensuring 'Al-Qaeda's demise.' During the speech, Brennan said:

"Our strategy is also shaped by a deeper understanding of al-Qa’ida’s goals, strategy, and tactics. I’m not talking about al-Qa’ida’s grandiose vision of global domination through a violent Islamic caliphate. 

That vision is absurd, and we are not going to organize our counterterrorism policies against a feckless delusion that is never going to happen."

As it turns out, it's not just ISIS' caliphate that is proving Brennan wrong. Now, Al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat Al-Nusra is setting up shop in the major Syrian city of Idlib:

Idlib is a city of at least 100,000 people. Though, some data, which is based on reports about Syria's refugee crisis, claims the population is closer to 'hundreds of thousands.'

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After Al-Nusra and other jihadist groups seized the city, they started to destroy everything relating to Assad:

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To give you a better idea of who captured Idlib, here's a recent tweet from a Jabhat Al-Nusra affiliated Twitter account:

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The Telegraph reports that the Al-Qaeda Syrian affiliate and other Islamist fighters seized the Syrian city of Idlib on Saturday, according to a monitoring group and statements posted on supporters' Twitter accounts.

It was reportedly seized by a coalition of fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra– al-Qaeda's Syrian arm – and other Islamist factions, including Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa, which signals a continuation of the country's chaotic and complex conflict.

In November of 2014, Al-Monitor reported that Al-Nusra was eyeing Idlib as a prime piece of real estate for its future caliphate:

In addition, this is the second time since the Syrian civil war was sparked that a major militant Islamist group was able to capture major territory.