Skirmishes between Syrian rebel factions are nothing new, but seem to be reaching a whole new level today, with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the largest secular rebel group, declaring “war” on Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda linked Islamist faction that is seen as the frontline fighters for most of the war’s major battles.
The two factions have clashed, but have also fought side-by-side in the past. The FSA accused al-Qaeda fighters of killing one of their top commanders yesterday when they met for what was supposed to be a coordination talk.
The declaration may be aimed at speeding pledges of US aid for the FSA fighters, who have been openly backed by the US. The Obama Administration has been keen to see the FSA start fighting al-Qaeda openly, even if it means “temporarily” forgetting about the war with Syria’s government.
In the end, the big winner could be the Assad government, as it divides their two biggest opponents int he civil war, and, if the new fight holds, will keep the FSA from using foreign jihadists to do the heavy lifting in major clashes.
A civil war within a "civil war". Nifty. As long as it keeps them from killing the heroic Syrian Army.
Not a peep about this on mainstream media, yet. Obama will have to find another war because his Syrian rebels allies will likely be destroyed by the better equipped and highly motivated al-Qaeda forces.
Divide and Conquer. Tried and true policy of the US towards the Middle East. If the US wanted Assad out bad enough they would've done it themselves and if they wanted to do it through proxies they could've. No, what the US and Israel want in Syria is very clear; the total destruction of Syria Keep giving the Syrian opposition scraps while at the same time keeping them dependent. Let the regime and the opposition destroy each other. When they have co opted their "sob's" thoroughly enough and everyone else on all sides is depleted come in for the kill. So whoever inherits a post Assad regime inherits destruction, and guess who is going to be first in line to "rebuild" Syria.
Sounds good, but will it work as planned? At present, population is challenging the "rebels" no matter who is funding them. Now, how cah US support "Free Syrian Army", when it litterally does not exist but in name. Their commander may have tried to convince the Salafists (called Al-Qaeda simply because they are not "in sinc" with out objective) to fight under the banner of FSA. And then they would be "renamed' something wholesome, and give legitimacy to FSA that has nothing. Now, how will the ranks of FSA be filled, who knows, BUT IT IS NOW SYRIANS OR FROM SYRIA. So, remains to be seen what will happen. Salafists are mostly Sunnis from Iraq — and they have much deeper reserve, but are hated by Syrians. The question is, will Saudi Arabia still back their Salafists, or will Shia Iraq cause misciief and support the troublemakers with money — arms are easy to buy.
This is the time when rattle snack starts biting himself thinking that its poison have no effect on him.
Sounds like a PR stunt.
Wouldn't be surprised to hear John McCain come out and declare that he personally advised the FSA that if they wanted the heavy weapons then they needed to separate themselves from Jabhat al-Nusra.
Just bear in mind that the US's goal in Syria is not to "liberate" it but to destroy it. If viewed along those lines, then a civil war within the civil war is just par for the course. Also please note that the pace of new wars has accelerated as a consequence of the Economic Collapse of the West, too. Even if Assad's regime collapsed overnight, we'd still be arming rebels to fight the old rebels (a.k.a. Al Qaeda). Clearly at this point in history US policy is being formulated by imbeciles or utter barbarians. Also consider all the great things that have occurred as a result of the invasion of Iraq: the replacement of a pretty self-sufficient (if draconian) socialist government by quarreling bands of sectarian idiots who rule the ruins and greater Iranian influence. How will Foggy Bottom f**k up the Levant? We don't have to wonder, we can just watch how this plays out.