The Growing Role Of Al Qaeda In Syria

Syria's al-Nusra Front soldiers. Business Insider

Syrian Rebels Pledge Loyalty To al-Qaeda -- USA Today

BEIRUT — A Syrian rebel group's pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda's replacement for Osama bin Laden suggests that the terrorist group's influence is not waning and that it may take a greater role in the Western-backed fight to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The pledge of allegiance by Syrian Jabhat al Nusra Front chief Abou Mohamad al-Joulani to al-Qaeda leader Sheik Ayman al-Zawahri was coupled with an announcement by the al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq, that it would work with al Nusra as well.

Lebanese Sheik Omar Bakri, a Salafist who says states must be governed by Muslim religious law, says al-Qaeda has assisted al Nusra for some time.

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My Comment: Are these the rebels that the U.S. is now going to support? Sadly .... this is probably going to be the case.

Is the CIA Getting Ready To Launch Drone Strikes In Syria?

Photo from MFS-The Other News

CIA Begins Sizing Up Islamic Extremists In Syria For Drone Strikes -- L.A. Times

The strategy is part of the agency's secret contingency planning to protect the U.S. and its allies as the violence there grows. Some militants in Syria are seen as closely linked to Al Qaeda.

WASHINGTON — The CIA has stepped up secret contingency planning to protect the United States and its allies as the turmoil expands in Syria, including collecting intelligence on Islamic extremists for the first time for possible lethal drone strikes, according to current and former U.S. officials.

President Obama has not authorized drone missile strikes in Syria, however, and none are under consideration.

The Counterterrorism Center, which runs the CIA’s covert drone killing program in Pakistan and Yemen, recently shifted several targeting officers to improve intelligence collection on militants in Syria who could pose a terrorist threat, the officials said.

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My Comment: So the U.S. is laying the groundwork to get involved in another conflict .... with no public debate, discussion, or (public) Congressional input.

Al Qaeda Affiliated Syrian Rebel Groups Are Defeating The Syrian Military

Syrian Rebels Tied to Al Qaeda Play Key Role in War -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — The lone Syrian rebel group with an explicit stamp of approval from Al Qaeda has become one of the uprising’s most effective fighting forces, posing a stark challenge to the United States and other countries that want to support the rebels but not Islamic extremists.

Money flows to the group, the Nusra Front, from like-minded donors abroad. Its fighters, a small minority of the rebels, have the boldness and skill to storm fortified positions and lead other battalions to capture military bases and oil fields. As their successes mount, they gather more weapons and attract more fighters.

The group is a direct offshoot of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi officials and former Iraqi insurgents say, which has contributed veteran fighters and weapons.

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My Comment: The U.S. is taking notice. A sobering analysis on the rise of Al Qaeda in Syria can be read here. Another analysis can be read here.