The below listed article discusses the makeup of the rebels forces fighting Assad in Syria; many of the rebels were armed with weapons from Libya.   For over a year, the Obama administration was collecting the flood of arms in Libya taken from Gadhafi’s arsenals, the administration perpetrated another gun running operation to supply the rebels in Syria with the Libyan arms; the Libyan arms were first sent thru Qatar to Syria, then they were sent thru Turkey to Syria and delivered by a third party to the rebels.  There are 1000 different rebel groups in Syria, arming those rebels thru a third party, that the US has no controls over, proved to be a very dangerous and uncertain proposition, but the Obama administration did so anyway, just as they armed the Mexican drug cartels in the Fast and Furious Operation.  Because the Free Syrian Army continues to ask for the arms that the US promised to provide them with over a year ago, we know the arms delivered to Syria in the US Gun Running Operation, fell into the hands of the 10,000+ well organized Al Q’ieda terrorists or possibly the three factions which includes 30,000 radical jihadists linked to Al Q’ieda-----the Islamic State in Iraq, the Levant (ISIL), and the Muslim Brotherhood.  Jabhat Al-Nusra, a radical Jihadist group, has taken over the leadership of the rebels in the eastern regions of Syria from the leaders of the Free Syrian Army; they are operating under  the black flag of Al Q’ieda.   There are multiple independent press reports that those rebels have been involved in beheading Christian, raping Christian women, destroying Christian churches, and wiping out entire Christian villages that Assad was protecting. 

ARE HARD LLINE TERRORISTS BEING AFFECTED BY OBAMA’S CHEMICAL WEAPONS INITIATIVE IN SYRIA?

      Over the past year it has been reported that chemical weapons have been employed in Syria up to 13 times; who employed them in each case is still in dispute.  Obama’s initial threat to fire 200 cruise missiles at targets in Syria to punish Assad for employing chemical weapons was inept; it was also offensive because it would have supported the Al Q’ieda and the Muslim Brotherhood’s military objective in their quest to take over Syria (shades of what Obama did in Libya).   Putin convinced Obama and Kerry he could get Assad to turn in all of his chemical weapons, now the Obama administration has been on an aggressive public relations campaign to convince the American people that it is possible to acquire and eliminate all of Assad’s chemical weapons in the midst of the ongoing Syrian civil war.   While Putin’s disarmament policy is negotiated at the UN, Putin will relieved to know that Assad will remain in power.  What the American people are not being told is that it will be a logistic nightmare to locate and eliminate the tons of chemical weapons in Assad’s arsenal, and even if there were no civil war, that it would take years to acquire them, eliminate them, and would require thousands of boots on the ground to execute the policy. In addition, in Kerry’s disarmament plan there is no proposal to verify or enforce Assad’s transfer of chemical weapons.  This is the latest flawed Middle East policy of the Obama administration; those knowledgeable of arms control know it will be “impossible” to collect all of Assad’s chemical weapons in the midst of the ongoing Syrian civil war, especially with 100,000 anti-Assad rebels seeking those same weapons.  There have also been reports that Assad is transferring his chemical weapons to Iraq and Lebanon for safe keeping.  Obama and Kerry by giving Putin the lead on the on the chemical weapons initiative have ceded vital strategic ground to the Russians and are aiding Russia in becoming the dominant foreign power in the Middle East.  

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION FLAWED MIDDLE EAST FOREIGN POLICY AND HOW IT AFFECTS HARDLINE TERRORISTS

     Over the last 5 years the Obama administration has consistently demonstrated by its actions, that it does not have a long range vision or well thought out strategy for dealing with issues in the Middle East as it affects Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran.   The most important function of any government is to protect its National Security interests; employing the US Armed Forces to attack Syria from the air, is like Japan when it attacked the US at Pearl Harbor, and in so doing, the US would have been supporting Syrian rebel groups like Jabhat Al-Nusra, Al Q’ieda, The Islamic State in Iraq, the Levant (ISIL), the Muslim Brotherhood, and splinter radical Islamic Jihadist groups; that would not be in the best interest of the National Security of the United States.  In addition, those opposing the rebels in the Syrian civil war like Assad, Iran, and Russia are also opposed to the United States’ policies in the Middle East.  Therefore, the parties on both sides of the Syrian civil war are opposed to the United States and its Middle East policies.  

     Those who encouraged the US to get involved in the conflict in the Libyan civil war lacked the understanding that a well-organized Al Q’ieda would take over the eastern region of the Libya when Gadhafi was deposed.  Those who recommended all military aide be halted to the pro-US Egyptian Military after the Muslim Brotherhood regime of Mohammed Morsi was crushed by the pro-US Egyptian Military, because Morsi was allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to burn 100 Christian churches, didn’t understand that our relationship with Egypt would be significantly damaged by cutting off that aide.   Those who keep trying to convince the American people that the US should get involved in Syrian civil war by attacking Syria do not understand that it will result in a long drawn out conflict and the inherent risk that the US military would be  helping  Al Q’ieda come to power in Syria, as it came to power in Libya. 

THE FUTURE MIDDLE EAST POLICIES OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

     Both Saudi Arabia and Israel are concerned about how the Obama administration is following the lead of Russia in the Syrian conflict, and are concerned about Obama’s current diplomatic initiative to mend relations with Iran, thru the good offices of the Sultan of Oman, Q?b?s bin Sa??d ??l Sa??d.  The concern is that initiating diplomatic relations with Iran, may result in the US turning a blind eye toward Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia and Israel are both concerned by the Obama administration’s display of weakness, while it continues to disregards Russia and Iran’s daily delivery of arms to Assad, Putin’s personal diplomatic initiative toward Iran to support Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, and of Russia arming Iran with an extensive S-300 air defense missile system.   They are both concerned of Obama and Kerry’s oft repeated “empty threats” to make an ineffective US military strike with 200 cruise missiles that no one believes will ever take place.

   The Obama administration should support a coordinated effort by US Middle East allies-----Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the Emerits in dealing with the complex issues in Syria.   The slaughter of 7 million civilians in Africa over the last 10 years was not our fight, the Libyan civil war was not our fight, and the Syrian civil war is not our fight. 

The endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress have sworn to continue to protect and defend the US Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic! THIS OPED IS BEING E-MAILED ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF AND IN THE MEMORY OF CONSTITUTION DAY: SEPTEMBER 17. 1787.

Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane's report

Nearly half the rebel fighters in Syria are now aligned to jihadist or hardline Islamist groups according to a new analysis of factions in the country's civil war.

Opposition forces have fragmented into as many as 1,000 bands

By Ben Farmer, Defense Correspondent, and Ruth Sherlock in Beirut

7:17PM BST 15 Sep 2013

Opposition forces battling Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria now number around 100,000 fighters, but after more than two years of fighting they are fragmented into as many as 1,000 bands.

The new study by IHS Jane's, a defense consultancy, estimates there are around 10,000 jihadists - who would include foreign fighters - fighting for powerful factions linked to al-Qaeda..

Another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline Islamists who share much of the outlook of the jihadists, but are focused purely on the Syrian war rather than a wider international struggle.

There are also at least a further 30,000 moderates belonging to groups that have an Islamic character, meaning only a small minority of the rebels are linked to secular or purely nationalist groups.

The stark assessment, to be published later this week, accords with the view of Western diplomats estimate that less than one third of the opposition forces are "palatable" to Britain, while American envoys put the figure even lower.  

Fears that the rebellion against the Assad regime is being increasingly dominated by extremists has fuelled concerns in the West over supplying weaponry that will fall into hostile hands. These fears contributed to unease in the US and elsewhere over military intervention in Syria.

Charles Lister, author of the analysis, said: "The insurgency is now dominated by groups which have at least an Islamist viewpoint on the conflict. The idea that it is mostly secular groups leading the opposition is just not borne out."

The study is based on intelligence estimates and interviews with activists and militants. The lengthy fighting has seen the emergence of hundreds of separate rebel bands, each operating in small pockets of the country, which are usually loyal to larger factions.

Two factions linked to al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) - have come to dominate among the more extremist fighters, Mr Lister said. Their influence has risen significantly in the past year.

"Because of the Islamist make up of such a large proportion of the opposition, the fear is that if the West doesn't play its cards right, it will end up pushing these people away from the people we are backing," he said. "If the West looks as though it is not interested in removing Assad, moderate Islamists are also likely to be pushed further towards extremists."

Though still a minority in number, ISIL has become more prominent in rebel-held parts of Syria in recent months. Members in northern Syria have sought to assert their dominance over the local population and over the more moderate rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The aim of moderate rebel fighters is the overthrow of their country's authoritarian dictator, but jihadist groups want to transform Syria into a hard-liner Islamic state within a regional Islamic "caliphate".

These competing visions have caused rancor which last week erupted into fighting between ISIL and two of the larger moderate rebel factions.

A statement posted online by Islamists announced the launch of an ISIL military offensive in the eastern district of Aleppo which it called "Cleansing Evil". "We will target regime collaborators, Shaiba [pro-Assad militias], and those who blatantly attacked the Islamic state," it added, naming the Farouz and Nasr factions.

Al-Qaeda has assassinated several FSA rebel commanders in northern Latakia province in recent weeks, and locals say they fear this is part of a jihadist campaign to gain complete control of the territory.

As well as being better armed and tougher fighters, ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra have taken control of much of the income-generating resources in the north of the country, including oil, gas and grain.

This has given them significant economic clout, allowing them to "win hearts and minds" by providing food for the local population in a way that other rebel groups cannot.

ISIS has also begun a programme of "indoctrination" of civilians in rebel-held areas, trying to educate Syria's traditionally moderate Sunni Muslims into a more hard-liner interpretation of Islam.

In early September, the group distributed black backpacks with the words "Islamic State of Iraq" stamped on them. They also now control schools in Aleppo where young boys are reportedly taught to sing jihadist anthems.
"It seems it is some sort of a long-term plan to brainwash the children and recruit potential fighters," said Elie Wehbe, a Lebanese journalists who is conducting research into these activities.