Jihadists tighten their grip on Syrian uprising October 29, 2013 SpaceWar reports: “Hard-line jihadist groups have significantly increased their power in Syria at the expense of more nationalist and secular rebel forces, and analysts say that power is expected to grow, undermining Western efforts to build a credible opposition against President Bashar Assad. Yet as recently as early August, the strength and influence of the radical forces appeared to be declining amid Western support for the Free Syrian Army and the mainstream Syrian National Coalition. The sharp reversal of fortunes, accompanied by a general turn against the exile-led political opposition to Assads minority Alawite regime, ‘largely resulted from the Obama administrations decision to cancel planned airstrikes against the Assad regime’ over an Aug. 21 chemical attack that reportedly killed 1,400 civilians, Oxford Analytica observed. That move ‘shattered the legitimacy of the FSA and the SNCs pro-Western stance, and emboldened hard-liners.’ It also deepened a rift between the United States and its longtime allies in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf monarchies that will only benefit Assad…”
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:21:03 +0000