From the moment the first defectors from the Syrian military took up arms against the Assad regime, rebels have couched their fight as an extension of pro-democracy protests that erupted across Syria. But as the rebellion is increasingly composed of foreign fighters, many religiously motivated, their agenda has changed.
Far from Western assumptions that removing Assad and installing the rebels would mean a “Free Syria,” the Islamist rebels are demanding an Islamist state, with a harsh brand of Sharia law and Sunni clergy given positions of significant power. Democracy, let alone a secular state that respects religious minorities is for them out of the question.
This shouldn’t be surprising. After all, the rebellion has changed dramatically from the days when military defectors were the rank-and-file soldiers. It is now a sectarian civil war, and despite US efforts to sequester the al-Nusra Front from the rest of the rebellion, it seems the fighters have more in common with the al-Qaeda-backed rebel group than the Western nations that continue to support them.
This is a long-term concern, as many of these fighters are pledging to continue the fight against whoever replaces Assad if they don’t get their way. Much as with Libya, the current civil war could set the stage for another one.
This one must be laid at the doorstep of Hillary Clinton and her cronies in this project, Susan Rice, Samantha Power, Jeffrey Feltman and Amb. Robert Ford. Working with jihadists was nothing new for the Clintons- it has been reported that Hillary's husband's Administration cultivated and helped train jihadists through hundreds of madrassas set up in the mid to late 1990s throughout the Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans, and did so with the help of our proxy, Turkey, using a Turkish imam front man, Fethullah Gulen and U.S. CIA trainers. Now the U.S. is experiencing blowback. We've already felt the jihadist consequences from our dealings with bin Laden (if not in 9/11- since his involvement was always questioned by experts, even if the government, including Obama cashed in big time on his name and his death- but for the Cole attack and the embassy bombings in East Africa) What foolishness. Now it is becoming clear to everyone that the big loser has not only been "human rights" for the Syrian people, but also "democracy" whatever that was ever intended to mean, and in the very words of whom? those whom we supported to overthrow Qadaafi in Libya, purportedly to bring it "democracy". So, who are the bobos with egg on their face and blood on their hands? maybe Hillary and her cronies? And what has become of their foreign policy of conflict and chaos? Hopefully, one day they will all be held to account for it.
I doesn't take a "village" but war mongering progressive women to push for death and destruction?
Not to disagree but, let's go back a little farther…to the neocons and Bush (I don't classify Dubya as a neocon – just a boob who went along with the rhetoric thrown at him by the true-believers and Israel-Firsters) who believed and put into action a belief that they could actually spread Democracy throughout a region of oligarchs and dictators and religious fanatics. This idea was doomed from the beginning. They may think they were successful in Iraq but Maliki is not setting up a democracy – he's working on becoming President for Life. And as soon as the US departs, Karzai is toast. What a mess – throughout the entire region…but that's what Israel wanted.
The origins lie in the use of Islamic fanatics to rout the Russians in Afghanistan.We are now seeing some serious blowback.
Wow! Have you ever…
Ditz seem genuinely shocked to finally learn some inconvenient facts about our "freedom fighters", defending "democracy, western values and humanity" (whatever) against Sauron´s evil forces in Syria.
For a non-american, from a real legitimate country not built upon the bones of it´s genocided natives with a history, culture and traditions of it´s own however, the most shocking is the black & white mind of these restless maniacs, still running around the world killing, building fort´s and reservations
What a surprise!
In this context it is useful to know that Syria is perhaps the only country in that region other than Israel which does not have a specified national religion in its constitution.
As was Iraq before you know what!
Yeah, I suppose a Jewish state need not specify a state religion as it is already implicit.
And with the laws that are being proposed and passed, not being of the "bloodline" will soon become the "citizenship" litmus test fail point – and more explicit. And once they've scarfed up all the productive land – you know farm land and land with water resources – they'll finally get around to just throwing the Arabs out of the country and dispensing with the charade.
Anyone who's been looking at this objectively would know that since the beginning, the Syrian people have been saying all along that they want an Islamic state. They're Muslims and they want a state based on Islamic teachings – why shouldn't they want that?
The jewish state is a zionist construct and has nothing to do with religion. The Jews themselves who are religious are against it being a state and recognize it's illegality.
EVERYTHING IS GOING EXTREMELY WELL!
Ready for some boots on the ground? Israel can come too.
Why is any attempt in creating an Islamic state treated as a serious threat and “No chance we can let that happen!” by western nations?
Because Israel wouldn't like it?
I am concerned Anitwar.com and Mr.Ditz have taken so long to recognise this and are apparantly shocked to discover it.__Insanely American policy-makers believe (as do British ones) the can put the Wahabist Jihadists back in the box when they have used them.__All will be well sa the seculars will be in the majority and win the election.__This is what happened the last time round with disasterous results and "Blowback".__There was the famous interview with Zbigiew Brisinski in which the reporter syas "but wasn't it foolish to use fundamentalists in the light of what has happened ?" "No, it was a real smart idea, there's no unity between the Arabs, it only leaves some stiired up Moslems."__However, I must disillusion Jason._There never were any secular rebels and army deserters._They always were Wahabist Jihadists, many coming from Saudi.__It is for this reason Saudi joined the secret alliance with Israel and Turkey stitched together by American policy-makers andtold them the only way to do it was to reactivate the Muhajadeen we call Al_Quaeda.
This is what they would get out of it – an Islamic Emirat. Israel got a free hand to absorb Palestine territory. Had you said this 21 months ago a lot of lives would have been saved.