How Extreme Are The Rebels In Syria?

Just How Extremist Are The Rebels In Syria? -- Jamie Dettmer, Daily Beast

A new report claims that the Syrian rebels are more jihadist and hardline than the Obama administration has asserted. Jamie Dettmer reports from Lebanon.

Nearly half of the rebel forces battling to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are jihadist or hardline Islamists, a British defense consultancy has warned its private clients, thus contradicting claims by Obama administration officials that opposition ranks are predominantly moderate.

According to a study by IHS Jane’s for commercial clients, the rebels number around 100,000 fighters and are spread across more than 1,000 fragmented bands that are often at odds with each other. They are increasingly engaged in infighting over war spoils and the control of seized property, from oil wells to state bakeries, as they seek revenue.

Charles Lister, an insurgency expert with IHS Jane’s and author of the analysis, estimates that around 10,000 are jihadists fighting for al Qaeda affiliates (the Islamic State of Iraq and the smaller Jabhat al-Nusra), while another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline Islamists who have less of a global jihad vision, but share a focus on establishing an Islamic state to replace Assad. Another 30,000 or so are more moderate Muslim Brotherhood Islamists.

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My Comment: Not a reassuring report .... which is why recent reports on the U.S. making it easier to arm these rebel factions should raise concerns.