Read Research Question You Decide This so called Civil War in Syria, is it the 2 most powerful Sects in Islam (Sunni & Shiite) fighing for power?? The Saudi are Sunni (so is BO aka bowing to his king) & Assad is Shiite go figure. "In early 2012, U.S. officials stated that the violence and disorder paralyzing Syria was creating opportunities for Al Qaeda operatives and other violent Islamist extremists to infiltrate the country and conduct or plan attacks. According to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, “Sunni extremists” had infiltrated Syrian opposition groups, which may be unaware of the infiltration. As of June 2013, Sunni extremist groups appear to be increasingly active in Syria, including groups sympathetic to or affiliated with Al Qaeda. In April 2013, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said that extremist militias were present in 13 of Syria’s 14 provinces “and are starting to establish municipal services, provide humanitarian aid, food, hospitals and sharia law courts.” Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), released a statement in April 2013 proclaiming a merger with the Nusra Front (Jabhat al Nusra li Ahl al Sham , Support Front for the People of Syria),although a reported Nusra leader downplayed any merger and pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri. Zawahiri in turn has instructed the groups to refrain from rivalry and continues to encourage foreign fighters to travel to Syria and calls on Muslims to offer material support to armed jihadist groups in Syria. Other prominent armed Salafist groups include members of the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), the Saquour al Sham brigades, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the Ummah Brigade (Liwa al Umma), and the Islam Brigade (Liwa al Islam). The Free Ones of the Levant Battalions (Kata’ib Ahrar al Sham) and other members of the SIF use jihadist rhetoric in some statements. Islamist fighters in the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF) rejected the reported merger of ISI and Al Nusra. The Lebanon-based extremist group Fatah al Islam has released a number of statements on the conflict and members of the group have been reported to be fighting in Syria. Press reports and anecdotal accounts suggest that there may be competition for influence among extremist groups and that they have lacked overarching coordination or shared leadership. The formation of the SIF and Syrian Islamic Liberation Front in late 2012 and early 2013 may signal increasing cooperation among like-minded Islamist militia groups. Experts consider the SIF to hold more hard-line views about the imposition of sharia law and members of its constituent militias may hold more hostile views toward the United States and Israel.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Sep 2013 15:11:17 +0000
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