US Department of State Fails to Check Sources about Who the Terrorists in Syria Really Are!

[KoKo]

Woman informing Kerry, McCain’s opinions on Syria also an advocate for Syrian rebels

The woman whose opinion lawmakers are relying on to go to war in Syria is also a paid advocate for the war-torn country’s rebels.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry encouraged members of the House of Representatives to read a Wall Street Journal op-ed by 26-year-old Elizabeth O’Bagy — an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War — who asserted that concerns about extremists dominating among the Syrian rebels are unfounded.

“Contrary to many media accounts, the war in Syria is not being waged entirely, or even predominantly, by dangerous Islamists and al-Qaida die-hards,” O’Bagy wrote for the Journal on Aug. 30. “Moderate opposition groups make up the majority of actual fighting forces,” she wrote.

But in addition to her work for the Institute for the Study of War, O’Bagy is also the political director for the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a group that advocates within the United States for Syria’s rebels — a fact that the Journal did not disclose in O’Bagy’s piece.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, O’Bagy said that despite her title as the group’s political director, she is paid as a contractor.

She insisted that she is not involved in the political lobbying that SETF does. “They kind of have two departments within the Task Force — one focused on working with the government on the Hill on advocacy and then the other working inside Syria and directly implementing government contracts,” she said.

O’Bagy’s relationship with SETF is a serious conflict of interest, according to David Reaboi, vice president for strategic communications at the Center for Security Policy.

“While there’s been a lot of worthwhile effort to expose activists considered pro-Assad or pro-Hezbollah — or, at least, to consider their analysis as coming from an interested party — O’Bagy seems to pass herself off as an impartial observer of the situation. Her access to Congress, intelligence services and to think tanks should be regarded as what it really is, which is a reflection of the Syrian rebels’ cause and aspirations,”

Reaboi said. speaking with TheDC, O’Bagy regularly insisted that she was not a salaried employee of SETF, but a paid contractor acting in an advisory role.

“I’m the political director and aid coordinator, and that’s my official title at the organization, but that’s mostly because it provides me an opportunity to engage on humanitarian issues and to be a part of some of these larger government contracts going to humanitarian aid,” O’Bagy said.

The Foreign Policy news site reported in June that SETF “boasts extensive contacts with rebel commanders” and “spent months lobbying Congress, the State Department and the White House for everything from small arms to anti-tank and and anti-aircraft weapons to body armor to advanced communications equipment for the rebels.”

O’Bagy is quoted in the Foreign Policy piece saying that the Obama administration’s June decision to openly arm Syrian rebels didn’t go far enough. ”Small arms and ammunition really only get you so far against airplanes,” she said then.

More at........
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/woman-informing-kerry-mccains-opinions-on-syria-also-an-advocate-for-syrian-rebels/http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09

[ProSense]

1. Not only is this from Tucker Carlson's rag, but it's also false.

The U.S. has it's own intelligence.

The WSJ article is challenging the assertion that the opposition is mostly extremists. Here is a HuffPo piece on the WSJ article and reaction to it.

NEW YORK -- A Wall Street Journal op-ed cited this week by both Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has drawn scrutiny for not disclosing writer Elizabeth O'Bagy's ties to a Syrian rebel advocacy group.

<...>

The Huffington Post contacted the Journal on Friday and was told the paper would not comment on op-ed's lack of disclosure. But shortly thereafter, a clarification was added to the piece: "In addition to her role at the Institute for the Study of War, Ms. O'Bagy is affiliated with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a nonprofit operating as a 501(c)(3) pending IRS approval that subcontracts with the U.S. and British governments to provide aid to the Syrian opposition."

<...>

McCain read part of O’Bagy’s piece out loud during a Tuesday Senate hearing and asked Kerry if he agreed with the writer's findings. Kerry said he mostly did. "The fundamentals of Syria are secular and will stay that way," he told McCain. The following day, Kerry said it was a “very interesting article” and suggested members of Congress read it. (Reuters later challenged Kerry’s assertions about the opposition).

McCain and Kerry each mentioned O'Bagy's role with the Institute for the Study of War, a non-partisan think tank, in citing the column, but not her connection to the Syria support group.

- more -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/wall-street-journal-syria-elizabeth-obagy_n_3881477.html

Kerry stated that he mostly agreed with it. The U.S. has its own intelligence, which, as indicated, Reuters used to "challenge" Kerry's assertions.

The intelligence doesn't contradict Kerry. Here is the Reuters report on the intelligence from July.

Islamist rebels would gain sway in long Syrian war: U.S. official

(Reuters) - - Radical Islamist rebels will gain sway over the many disparate factions opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad unless they are checked, and the country's civil war could last years...David Shedd, the deputy director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, did not advocate any form of intervention by the United States or its allies, saying that was up to policymakers.

But his bleak assessment of the dangers posed by the Islamist al-Nusra Front and al Qaeda's Iraq-based wing, as well as the prospects for a prolonged conflict, could bolster advocates of greater involvement by the United States and its allies.

Addressing the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Shedd said he counted at least 1,200 groups in the opposition. He said many of the groups were preoccupied with strictly local grievances, like a lack of potable water in their villages.

"Left unchecked, I'm very concerned that the most radical elements will take over larger segments" of the opposition groups, Shedd said, strongly hinting at the need for some kind of outside intervention.

- more -

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/21/us-syria-crisis-pentagon-idUSBRE96K01320130721

The current article, while the title states: Kerry portrait of Syria rebels at odds with intelligence reports
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/05/us-syria-crisis-usa-rebels-idUSBRE98405L20130905

...does not dispute Kerry's claim about the constitution of the opposition.

<...>

"Who are the rebel forces? Who are they? I ask that in my briefings all the time," McCaul said. "And every time I get briefed on this it gets worse and worse, because the majority now of these rebel forces - and I say majority now - are radical Islamists pouring in from all over the world."

Kerry replied: "I just don't agree that a majority are al Qaeda and the bad guys. That's not true. There are about 70,000 to 100,000 oppositionists ... Maybe 15 percent to 25 percent might be in one group or another who are what we would deem to be bad guys.

<...>

U.S. intelligence sources do not dispute that Islamic extremists are in the minority on the battlefield.

"Most of the groups battling against Assad are composed of Islamist fighters, but only a small minority could accurately be characterized as extremist," one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But a second official, who also asked not to be named, said moderate rebels may have lost strength rather than gained it in recent months. Due to their relative lack of weapons and organization, they are beginning to make alliances with better-armed Islamic radicals, whom they see pursuing more effective actions against Assad's forces, the official said.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023611670#post41

[blm]

2. OMG!!! Palin is RIGHT. Obama AND Kerry side with terrorists.

I really think that Obama only had BinLaden knocked off so HE could be the head of Al Qaeda. It's all becoming so clear. Thanks for this extremely valuable information KoKo.

[KoKo]

6. blm...tell me where the article is incorrect, rather than shooting the messenger.

If it's incorrect then post an article that shows that.

[blm]

10. ProSense posted analysis.

.

[Tx4obama]

3. The Daily Caller is a right-wing RAG founded by Tucker Carlson

[KoKo]

4. The story is not false ...even though the site is OTT...

If you have a problem with it then post something refuting the article. Did Kerry use it to defend his support of the "Insurgents" in Syria?

[ProSense]

5. It is false. See post #1. n/t

[Tx4obama]

7. See Comment #1.

[KoKo]

8. Greg Mitchell of the Nation is a Right Wing TeaBagger?

Tweet from Greg Mitchell.

@GregMitch: Amazing: WSJ has now added note to that key piece cited by Kerry and McCain, confirming writer paid by Syria rebels! http://t.co/cZJbkvjzlf

[blm]

9. Because he believed what he read doesn't make it accurate.

There is a lot of false info being spread by so many groups from the right and left it would be dizzying if I wasn't so certain that Obama and Kerry are both uninterested in war for war's sake or for the MIC. You really think that Kerry and Obama want a war to be their legacy? You completely dismiss the 8years Kerry put into Assad to bring him in to be part of the solution for the region. 8 years appealing to the side of Assad that did not want to emulate the brutality of his father.

NONE of you ever put anything about this whole matter in CONTEXT - you scream every bullshit headline that is spun to hurt the credibility of two of the better lawmakers this country has produced over the last century.

The Paulbots have taken over this site and have a whole lot of folks on their hooks.