Obama shouldn’t have designated some of our fighters as terrorists ( Syria Coalition Leader )

Hot Air ^ | 5:21 pm on December 12, 2012 | Allahpundit

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Leader of new U.S.-backed Syrian rebel coalition: Obama shouldn’t have designated some of our fighters as terrorists

posted at 5:21 pm on December 12, 2012 by Allahpundit

A short but important footnote to the NYT’s story about Assad using scud missiles against the rebels. Remember, this is supposed to be the new pro-western face of the Syrian opposition that’ll make deeper U.S. involvement more politically palatable.

But the leader of the coalition took issue with a decision by the Obama administration to classify Al Nusra Front — one of several armed groups fighting Mr. Assad — as a foreign terrorist organization and urged the United States to review that decision.

The coalition leader, Sheik Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, said, “The logic under which we consider one of the parts that fights against the Assad regime is a terrorist organization is a logic one must reconsider.”

He also said: “We love our country. We can differ with parties that adopt political ideas and visions different from ours. But we ensure that the goal of all rebels is the fall of the regime.”

Why is an alleged “moderate” sticking up for Jabhat al-Nusra, allegedly an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Iraq? Because: The only thing Syrians care about right now is bringing down Assad, and if the Nusra Front is willing to pitch in on that then, as far as they’re concerned, three cheers for them. Read Aaron Zelin’s piece at Foreign Policy for a more thorough exposition of that, or just click here and check out the photo that was circulating on Syrian Facebook after the State Department declared Al Nusra officially a terrorist group. Writes Zelin:

Syrians are also planning to take to the streets to express their solidarity with Jabhat al-Nusra this week. A coalition of coordinating committees and rebel battalions has called for demonstrations this Friday under the slogan “No to the Interference of America — We Are All Jabhat al-Nusra.” The statement originally had 29 signatories, but now contains more than 100.

Even more worrisome from the perspective of the United States, there are tentative signs that Jabhat al-Nusra has also been providing local services. While the designation signals that the U.S. government is committed to isolating the group, its heroics on the battlefield and its work to provide for the basic needs of the Syrian people could signal that it is becoming embedded within the social fabric of the population.

Some of the Al Nusra fans are undoubtedly good old-fashioned jihadi sympathizers but even the more secular types are in no mood to be picky when it comes to fighters willing to risk their lives to finish off Assad. And so Obama’s attempt to earn some goodwill with the population by endorsing the Syrian Opposition Council last night is instantly off to a bad start. It’s a perfect example of why intervention there is doomed to be messy and thankless: Politically, Obama had no choice but to denounce Al Nusra and al-Khatib had no choice but to defend them. And meanwhile, the group is hard at work expanding its own influence over the rebellion even as the White House strains to limit it. New from Long War Journal:

Jihadist groups in Syria are “beginning to coalesce under a single command, and are following the lead of the Al Nusrah Front,” a US intelligence official familiar with the situation in Syria told The Long War Journal.

“Al Nusrah isn’t the only jihadist group operating in Syria, but as part of al Qaeda’s franchise it has access to its resources and expertise,” the intelligence official continued. “Al Nusrah has the cachet to organize the local jihadists and integrate them.”

“The influence of the jihadist groups in Syria, and their prowess on the battlefield, is being vastly underestimated,” the official said. “Al Qaeda, through the Nusrah Front, is working to unite these disparate jihadist groups, just as it did in Iraq.”

That’s from a post about the founding of the new Mujahedeen Shura Council incorporating 10 jihadi groups that are currently doing much of the heavy lifting on the battlefield. Which do you suppose will have more influence in Syria after Assad, the MSC or Obama’s weapons-less Syrian Opposition Council? To see what the medium-term, or even near-term, future holds, click here — but only if you have a strong stomach.

Al Nusrah even benefits from Assad’s dumb scud offensive. The weapons aren’t very accurate and therefore are unlikely to set the rebels back much, but as an ostentatious form of escalation (they’re capable of carrying chemical warheads) they’re bound to infuriate the Syrian population even more. And the angrier Syrians get, the less discriminating they’ll be about who’s doing the fighting on their behalf and what sort of government might follow the butcher of Damascus. The White House knows all of that, which is why it’s now scrambling to boost the profile of the Syrian Opposition Council and, eventually, to intervene somehow in the rebels’ defense. Exit question: Too little, too late?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[MestaMachine]

"Obama had no choice but to denounce Al Nusra and al-Khatib had no choice but to defend them. And meanwhile, the group is hard at work expanding its own influence over the rebellion even as the White House strains to limit it."

Oh, bull. obama said what was politically expedient for his audience here in the US...just like the plo and arafat did when talking to the ignorant West in English while planning terrorist attacks with his fighters in arabic. obama could give a crap about al nusra. They are ALL his peeps and that is the long and the short of it.

Anyone wanting on or off this ping list, please advise.

Benghazi Index

This is a connect another 'after Benghazi' dot, folks. If you would rather not follow beyond Benghazi, let me know.

[MestaMachine]

"Obama had no choice but to denounce Al Nusra and al-Khatib had no choice but to defend them. And meanwhile, the group is hard at work expanding its own influence over the rebellion even as the White House strains to limit it."

Oh, bull. obama said what was politically expedient for his audience here in the US...just like the plo and arafat did when talking to the ignorant West in English while planning terrorist attacks with his fighters in arabic. obama could give a crap about al nusra. They are ALL his peeps and that is the long and the short of it.

Anyone wanting on or off this ping list, please advise.

Benghazi Index

This is a connect another 'after Benghazi' dot, folks. If you would rather not follow beyond Benghazi, let me know.

[TigersEye]

This is rich.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Amen!

Shutting down here.....be back tomorrow.

Get some shuteye out there.

[TigersEye]

Good idea. Have a restful peaceful night.

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

Hey, this applies to American troops too:

"Obama Janet Napolitano shouldn’t have designated some of our fighters as terrorists"

[Sheapdog]

How about all of ‘em. Sht

[justa-hairyape]

Interesting reading Thursday morning.

Assad fires Scuds to stop Al Qaeda arm seizing chemical arms at Al Safira

Thursday morning, Dec. 12, they were just a kilometer from the base’s northwestern perimeter fence and advancing fast. By week’s end, Jabhat al-Nusra jihadis may have smashed into the base and seized control of the chemical stocks and Scud D planes standing there armed with chemical warheads. The imminence of this peril forced Bashar Assad’s hand into sending Scud jets against rebel-held areas in an effort to stop their advance on the base.

[Marine_Uncle]

I have a feeling this Debka report is accurate. Tis 5:20AM EST.. I couldn't sleep and dialed in for a while, while washing cloths and having a early morning breakfast.
I will have to read this Debka report from post #10, more carefully later today when the eye balls taint rolling around so much.

[BlackVeil]

I think it was indeed wrong for the US govt to say that some of these rebels are terrorists.

All of them are.

[Para-Ord.45]

Some !?

Bu-wa-ha-haa !

Try all:

On the same day the US government announced that al Qaeda in Iraq’s Al Nusrah Front was a terrorist organization, Al Nusrah and nine other jihadist groups banded together in the Syrian province of Deir al Zour and formed a Mujahideen Shura Council.

The 10 jihadist groups, headed by the Al Nusrah Front, released a statement yesterday announcing the council’s formation “on jihadist forums and pro-Syrian resistance social networking sites,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the message.

“The jihadi Islamic brigades in the city of proud Deir al Zour in the Levant of Islam and garrison announce the establishment of the Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al-Zour,” the statement said, according to SITE. The groups that joined the Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al Zour are listed at the beginning of the statement, in the following order:

1. Al Nusrah Front
2. Al Ansar Brigades
3. Al Abbas Brigades
4. La Ilaha Ila Allah [There is No God but Allah] Battalion
5. Al Hamza Brigade
6. Al Sa’qah Brigade
7. Jund al Aziz Brigade
8. Izzuddin al Qassam Brigade
9. Abu al Qassam Brigade
10. Brigade of the Da’wa [Preaching] and Jihad Front

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/syrian_jihadists_inc.php

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

NO,..NO,...NO,...

you guys just don't understand,....there have to be some White Hats there...the good guys....

I know it is confusing....but,...but....it just has to be that way.

How else are we gonna be able to help.

And HELP... we must....

*************************************************************

Think,....the UN R2P ----

Responsibility to protect ....

LOOK IT UP!