Half of Syria's 'Rebels' Are Jihadists or Hardline Islamists

Well, you can't say Obama's been inconsistent in his support for America's enemies. Siding with al Qaeda against Assad really does put a capstone on this administration's terror-coddling policies.

At Telegraph UK, "Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane's report":

Nearly half the rebel fighters in Syria are now aligned to jihadist or hardline Islamist groups according to a new analysis of factions in the country's civil war.

Opposition forces battling Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria now number around 100,000 fighters, but after more than two years of fighting they are fragmented into as many as 1,000 bands.

The new study by IHS Jane's, a defence consultancy, estimates there are around 10,000 jihadists - who would include foreign fighters - fighting for powerful factions linked to al-Qaeda.

Another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline Islamists who share much of the outlook of the jihadists, but are focused purely on the Syrian war rather than a wider international struggle.

There are also at least a further 30,000 moderates belonging to groups that have an Islamic character, meaning only a small minority of the rebels are linked to secular or purely nationalist groups.

The stark assessment, to be published later this week, accords with the view of Western diplomats estimate that less than one third of the opposition forces are "palatable" to Britain, while American envoys put the figure even lower.

More at the link.

And at the video, from CBS News, "The Briefer: Ex-CIA No. 2 on Syria crisis.:

I'm concerned because I fear the breakup of the state of Syria, collapse of the central government, sectarian warfare, opportunity for al Qaeda to have a safe haven in Syria that is not dissimilar to the safe haven that it once enjoyed in Afghanistan and once enjoyed in the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas].

Yay Baracky!