November 23, 2013
BEIRUT — Seven Syrian Islamist rebel groups (click here) announced Friday that they’d combine operations in the face of a fierce offensive by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad, a move that would turn the disparate groups into the largest anti-Assad faction.
The groups said their new affiliation would be called the Islamic Front and would aim to replace Assad’s government with an Islamic state.
Two of the anti-Assad movement’s most effective forces, the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, both of which are al-Qaeda affiliates, weren’t named as part of the new coalition. But the new grouping left the door open to cooperating with them.
“The Islamic Front is an independent military and social force that is aimed at bringing down Assad’s regime in Syria and at replacing it with a just Islamic state,” the groups said in a statement.
The Islamic Front would be composed of the largest rebel fighting force in the north, Liwa Tawhid, and the most powerful faction fighting in Damascus, Jaysh Islam. The other groups that agreed to the new unit are Ahrar al-Sham, Liwa al-Haq, Ansar al-Sham and Suqour al-Sham, as well as a smaller Kurdish group, the Kurdish Islamic Front.
An official from the new group said the negotiations to form the new command had taken seven months.
Amad Essa al-Sheikh, the head of the Consultative Council of the new Islamic Front, said the goal of integrating the factions was to bring about “a paradigm shift in the armed rebellion by closing ranks and mobilizing them to become the real alternative to the dying regime.”
Strange isn't it? We are still paying the price for a President with a personal agenda for corporate America.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
BEIRUT — Seven Syrian Islamist rebel groups (click here) announced Friday that they’d combine operations in the face of a fierce offensive by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad, a move that would turn the disparate groups into the largest anti-Assad faction.
The groups said their new affiliation would be called the Islamic Front and would aim to replace Assad’s government with an Islamic state.
Two of the anti-Assad movement’s most effective forces, the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, both of which are al-Qaeda affiliates, weren’t named as part of the new coalition. But the new grouping left the door open to cooperating with them.
“The Islamic Front is an independent military and social force that is aimed at bringing down Assad’s regime in Syria and at replacing it with a just Islamic state,” the groups said in a statement.
The Islamic Front would be composed of the largest rebel fighting force in the north, Liwa Tawhid, and the most powerful faction fighting in Damascus, Jaysh Islam. The other groups that agreed to the new unit are Ahrar al-Sham, Liwa al-Haq, Ansar al-Sham and Suqour al-Sham, as well as a smaller Kurdish group, the Kurdish Islamic Front.
An official from the new group said the negotiations to form the new command had taken seven months.
Amad Essa al-Sheikh, the head of the Consultative Council of the new Islamic Front, said the goal of integrating the factions was to bring about “a paradigm shift in the armed rebellion by closing ranks and mobilizing them to become the real alternative to the dying regime.”
Strange isn't it? We are still paying the price for a President with a personal agenda for corporate America.
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff WriterSunday, June 18, 2006
Just after the lightning takeover of Baghdad (click here) by U.S. forces three years ago, an unusual two-page document spewed out of a fax machine at the Near East bureau of the State Department. It was a proposal from Iran for a broad dialogue with the United States, and the fax suggested everything was on the table -- including full cooperation on nuclear programs, acceptance of Israel and the termination of Iranian support for Palestinian militant groups.
But top Bush administration officials, convinced the Iranian government was on the verge of collapse, belittled the initiative. Instead, they formally complained to the Swiss ambassador who had sent the fax with a cover letter certifying it as a genuine proposal supported by key power centers in Iran, former administration officials said.
Last month, the Bush administration abruptly shifted policy and agreed to join talks previously led by European countries over Iran's nuclear program. But several former administration officials say the United States missed an opportunity in 2003 at a time when American strength seemed at its height -- and Iran did not have a functioning nuclear program or a gusher of oil revenue from soaring energy demand....
Last month, the Bush administration abruptly shifted policy and agreed to join talks previously led by European countries over Iran's nuclear program. But several former administration officials say the United States missed an opportunity in 2003 at a time when American strength seemed at its height -- and Iran did not have a functioning nuclear program or a gusher of oil revenue from soaring energy demand....
