Islamists Dominate Rebels

Reuters has a story, "Syria's Islamists seize control as moderates dither," this morning which confirms the impression one gets from reading the daily news coming out of Syria. The rebels on the battlefield no longer include significant groupings of secularists fighting for political rights. Sunni fundamentalists fighting for a religious state dominate:

It's a pattern repeated elsewhere in the country. During a 10-day journey through rebel-held territory in Syria, Reuters journalists found that radical Islamist units are sidelining more moderate groups that do not share the Islamists' goal of establishing a supreme religious leadership in the country. 

The moderates, often underfunded, fragmented and chaotic, appear no match for Islamist units, which include fighters from organizations designated "terrorist" by the United States. 

The Islamist ascendancy has amplified the sectarian nature of the war between Sunni Muslim rebels and the Shi'ite supporters of Assad. It also presents a barrier to the original democratic aims of the revolt and calls into question whether the United States, which announced practical support for the rebels last week, can ensure supplies of weapons go only to groups friendly to the West.

World powers fear weapons could reach hardline Islamist groups that wish to create an Islamic mini-state within a crescent of rebel-held territory from the Mediterranean in the west to the desert border with Iraq.

That prospect is also alarming for many in Syria, from minority Christians, Alawites and Shi'ites to tolerant Sunni Muslims, who are concerned that this alliance would try to impose Taliban-style rule.

And speaking of the Taliban, though it was not addressed in this morning's substantial story, "Taliban Step Toward Afghan Peace Talks Is Hailed by U.S.," by Matthew Rosenberg and Alissa Rubin, my sense is this was a quid pro quo for the U.S. agreeing to arm the Syrian rebels. Qatar, where the Taliban reopened their political office yesterday, has been the Gulf Arab nation most active in its support of al-Assad's ouster.

The Obama administration knows that once Western military forces depart next year the Afghan government will collapse soon after. So some sort of agreement with the Taliban is essential not only to salvage a silver lining from the decade-plus occupation but also to maintain future viability of NATO out-of-area adventurism. To facilitate these negotiations, Obama is willing to provision the rebels with light arms.

It could be that Obama, cornered by his "red line" statement about the use of chemical weapons and hawks in his State Department, tried to make the most out of an atrocious situation by getting Qatar to muscle the Taliban to the table. Rosenberg and Rubin don't see much coming out of new talks. The Taliban are merely increasing their international profile as they prepare to take power.

Rounding out other Syria news, Russia got the best of the other G-8 nations. The final statement called for peaceful negotiations to begin as soon as possible, making no mention of al-Assad stepping down nor the alleged use of poison gas by the Syrian government. The Lebanese Army was sent to the port city of Sidon to quell gun battles between loyalists to Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir, who has called for jihad against al-Assad, and Hezbollah.