U.S., anti-Assad rebels in Syria remain at odds over role of al Qaida’s Nusra Front
WASHINGTON — To the United States and its allies, the Nusra Front is a fearsome al Qaida affiliate whose extremist ideology has no place in a future Syria.
To many Syrian rebels, however, Nusra fighters are vital warriors in the battle to topple President Bashar Assad, even if the moderates don’t share the group’s end goal of a religious state.
This disconnect has existed since the early days of the Syrian conflict, when the Obama administration first designated Nusra a foreign terrorist organization. It explains in no small part why Western nations have been slow to offer lethal aid to moderate rebels who maintain close relations with Nusra.
But it’s taken on new significance as the Obama administration rolls out a Syria strategy that focuses on counterterrorism, seemingly leaving the anti-Assad struggle as an afterthought.
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