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Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Free Syrian Army fighters take cover behind sand bags during clashes in Aleppo on Sunday.
NEWS ANALYSIS
Richard Engel, NBC News' chief foreign correspondent, has just left Syria after spending three weeks reporting on rebel forces in the north of the war-torn country. Based on his three weeks of reporting, he offers an analysis of what could happen if the international community does not intervene in the conflict.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Al-Qaida units are already entering Syria.
Pickup trucks waving their black flags and carrying hard-looking men are increasingly evident on Syrian country roads.
It wasn't like this just a few weeks ago. A year-and-a-half ago, Syrian rebels started the fight to topple President Bashar Assad’s corrupt police state and end four decades of sectarian favoritism. The majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslims but they have been ruled by Assad’s Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Rebel forces claim to have downed a Syrian fighter jet
The rebels have watched Russia arm the government. They have seen Shiite Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah send fighters and military advisors to help Assad.
They have also watched the United Nations send observers without authority, and the United States make what seem to many appear to be toothless condemnations.
Rebels say minority Shiite and Alawite Muslims, the groups that have ruled Syria for decades, are being left alone in the carnage inflicted by Syrian troops. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
So al-Qaida, the world’s most extremist Sunni group, is offering itself as a solution, a savior of the revolution. It is arriving flush with money and weapons, as I reported last week.
I have spoken with rebel units who told me they were offered large amounts of money, in exchange for pledging allegiance to al-Qaida. But it comes with a caveat: they can not leave. One rebel commander told me that one of his relatives had joined al-Qaida and tried to leave – but was executed for his apparent treason.
Still others are taking up the opportunity.
"I will go to [al-Qaida], and raise their flag if they give me support," one rebel told me.
"I'd take money from al-Qaida. What choice do I have? I can't defend myself or my family," another rebel commander said. "I'll take the al-Qaida support, and then deal with them later. Otherwise there won't be a later."
At least 262 al-Qaida militants are now operating in the border area between Turkey and Syria and rebels say another group of fighters are living in a tented camp just outside Aleppo, Syria's largest city. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
He's the most secular Syrian I know. He hates al-Qaida, but feels he may have to deal with the devil to save his family and village.
Even the most secular rebel groups say they're tempted, and no wonder. I've seen rebels at checkpoints with empty magazines in the rifles. They have homemade grenades in pipes and shaving cream cans.
The country's biggest city, Aleppo, has been under attack for two weeks and the rebels are dangerously close to running out of weapons. Now Riad Hijab, the first Syrian cabinet minister to defect, has fled the country. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
It's easy to forget that without international support, the rebels in Libya would have lost the war and been massacred. And the Syrian rebels are asking for much less than what was given to Libya. They don't want ground troops, although they would take a no-fly zone, if offered. All they’re really asking for is ammunition and a few hundred anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets.
Violence intensifying in Syria: the battle continues in Aleppo
Meanwhile, the United States says it doesn't know who to arm, and that it doesn’t want to give weapons to the wrong people.
While Saudi Arabia and Qatar are believed to be arming Syrian rebels, and the United States and Britain pledged to step up non-lethal assistance to Assad's opponents, many say this is far from enough.
Al-Qaida may be trying to infiltrate rebel groups battling Syrian government forces. NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel tells about the evidence of the terrorist group's presence.
The United States, rebels say, is paralyzed because of the upcoming presidential elections. Washington can’t take decisive action because of November’s vote, many rebels contend.
US, Turkey explore no-fly zones over Syria
So while the vast majority of rebels hate the idea of an al-Qaida base in Syria, they also don't want Assad to stay in power and continue his killing spree. And international inaction may give the United States' worst enemy a gift that it has always wanted – a base at the heart of the Middle East.
NBC News
People resisting the army of President Bashar Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting.
And this would be a danger to Syria, its neighbors, and the United States.
More world stories from NBC News:
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- 'There will be no winner in Syria,' UN chief warns
- Three US special ops troops killed, Afghan officials say
- Body found at home of missing UK girl's grandmother
- Day at Olympics well worth $1,000 for family of four, NJ fans say
- Notorious Colombian druglord arrested, headed to US for trial
Leave a Comment:
Okay. NBC. This entire paragraph above is garbage. Independent news outlets have been broadcasting still photos and videos of Al Qaeda flags flying over opposition gatherings for months. As in back when it was still peaceful protesting. I've been reading interview transcripts since the beginning of this year in which Iraqis and Libyans with the experience to know what they're talking about have gone on record saying the FSA and Muslim Brotherhood are chock FULL of the same Al Qaeda that have been shooting at police in Iraq since the end of the Iraq war, and that they stopped off to join the Libyan "freedom fighters" along the way to Syria. Just like Qadaffi tried to tell the world public.
As for arming the government? Syria has always had Russian weapons - and a substantial amount of them. I mean they've had Migs since the late 80's at worst. They didn't just fly in superior firepower yesterday. But now that we mention virtually overnight superiority, where did the extra armament, SA-7 launchers, bottomless ammo, and logistics/battlefield strategy lessons of the last month come from for the FSA? Huh? A Dummies book they downloaded from the internet?
No. America has been sending the FSA money, at LEAST since the beginning. Turkey has been funding them and arming them. Mossad has been training them. And the CIA, Haggardly Clinton and the American media have been LYING about them.
You know what? I liked NBC a whole lot better when you guys stuck to making complete and utter train wrecks out of Olympic coverage and claiming the only thing wrong with your network was continuing to support the best reporter you have as she fronted the Today show. Stick to that, will you? You suck at facts.
You won't find a mainstream source reporting anything any differently. They've got to support the government propaganda narrative.
But you're correct in everything you say. "See-ers" like you are refreshing.
I had no idea that devils needed money. I thought they were non-materialistic spirits.
I agree that this is a no win situation... And ideally it would be best to let them fight it out amongst themselves. Just remember that Syria is a nuclear armed nation. If the rebels overthrow the government and Al-Qaida finds its way into the government, then we could have some very large problems on our hands. So, what is the answer??? Honestly, I don't have one. Probably just wait and see, if we will have to clean up the mess. :/
Syria doesn't have nukes.
That guy at the bottom of the picture looks like a hezbollah member, lol...
Possible. Was he visiting the White House?
If the terrorists could perpetrate a "9/11" every day forever they still couldn't bring us down. Let them kill each other and we just step in with a bomb or two where it counts.
test
Wow, hurry up and scramble the F-22's Engle says al -qaeda is going to get a foot hold unless we do something. I think we should just sit down in the cheap seats get a bag of popcorn and watch a brutal dictatorship, (air quotation marks freadom fighters), and al-qaeda battle it out and see who is left standing at the end. Assad is using russian weapons, and is dependent on russian financing. So if the so called Freadom fighters/ al-qaeda side wins they can blame the russians and blah blah blah declare jihad on russia. If Assad wins no big deal his forces have been weakend and the russians look like morons because they backed the brutal losing side. Sounds like a winner to me.
Obama's reluctance to assist the Syrian rebels stands as one of the most despicable failures of U.S. foreign policy in the past 50 years. Obama will only act if he thinks it will help his reelection. Pure slime!
why would you want to arm someone who has vowed to kill you...
Guns and bullets cost money. If the U.S. finances that war we at home go without something.
We either help the rebels now or will have to attack Syria later after they have hit us.
Man, al-Quaida has got to be America's best asset.
Got a country we need to invade with strategic economic interests for banks and oil companies?
War-weary nation that doesn't agree with intervention?
No problem: Just tell everyone al-Quaida's gonna get'em (booga, booga!)
It's so perfect. You'd think they were created by the CIA or something.
Once again, when the rest of the world does nothing, who is left to fight? The most radical, the most ideological, the most determined. When the Nazis ran over most of Europe without a fight, it was the communists who were out in front. When the Nazis went down, it was the communists who swallowed up most of Eastern Europe. No one came to help these rebels up against a professional, well manned, well equipped army headed by a psychopath, Assad, and all his secret police, terror squads, secret prisons. Someone showed up with money and guns AND a willingness to fight and die. The rebels NEVER asked for any foreigners to come and fight and die. All they asked for was money, supplies, weapons, and ammo. They were willing to fight and die. I think they will win THANKS to Al Quieda's help. Who will they owe when they win. Not the US. Not the west.
The rebels NEVER asked for any foreigners to come and fight and die. All they asked for was money, supplies, weapons, and ammo.
We tried that in Afghanistan in the 80's. Worked out well didn't it?
All of you that want to stay out of the middle east, don't you drive a gas powered car? Yes, I thought you did. Given that the middle east is where most of our oil is coming from we need to ensure we can influence decisions there.
If Al-Qaeda gains a foothold in Syria they may gain political influence as the warriors that defeat Al-Assad. They could potentially become a political force like Hezbollah. Ignoring a major conflict like Syria isn't in our national interest.
Conservatives are such hypocrites for demanding war in Iraq where it was a farce and refusing to go to war when it's really essential.
Will world inaction help al-Qaida gain foothold in Syria? That's Obama's plan..
When e are attacked we should hit back and we should back hard enough to make the enemy dizzy enough to make them think twiceabout attacking us again. Stop this nation building stuff...this is what bankrupt out country
Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas. Three reasons why any fixation on Al-Queda is absurd.
Jeff - You could not be more right. The trolls here just want to condemn Obama. They care not about the historical lessons of the last 30 years in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
All they see here is what they see on TV, maybe a few hundred people who call themselves Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has no central leadership anymore, and the Syrian rebels don't want to work with them. But if we won't help them, the Al-Qaeda fighters will. And if Assad wins, who do you think he will funnel money to to do the payback for him? Al-Qaeda. Terrorists don't care who they work with, kill, or get paid by as long as it furthers their goals.
Some of the comments here are so ignorant and misinformed, it makes me wonder if some of these people have ever picked up a book on Middle East politics or history. They think if they yell louder, their opinions will drown out actual facts. Facts that came from scholarly research, published books, and in-depth reporting, not the 'facts' that come from Fox News and Internet message board dogma.
I don't mind other people having different views, and enjoy a good discussion about it. But calling names and trashing people is not an excuse for making a rational argument, and providing sources to back up what you say.
You post on this news "site" and you're going to bitch about Fox???
Mark l.
Have you hugged a Rattle Snake today???? I am just wondering because you do not seem to have a good grasp on inherent dangers of certain species of creatures. You speak as if you want to refer to some "Scholarly Research" but I do not see any mentioned. You are trying to deliver some sort of credence to the reporters on this venue which is liberal just the way you like it.
Fox is the other side of the same coin. They slant Right. Instead of shutting one down and only listening to what is left, I personally prefer to study both and therefore I might be able to take away some truth apart from their individual agendas.
I also go to the websites for the news sources from around the world to get an inside look at what is happening in relation to the US.
I do this to be a student not a teacher, but there are times that having a wide "Angle" view of the world, the large picture may be easier to recognize.
I have read much about the history of these peoples and have to say that my observations of them is based more on the actions of the people that Murder their own people on the Internet as an object lesson to their own people and to the world. The message is: "We can do this to anyone, YES WE CAN:)". What I see is the Radical side of Islam having TOTAL power over all Islamic nations using brutal violence and the threat of Violence. They are following the same Formula of Apostolic Invasion. This is exactly the same methods used as the Early Roman Catholic Church spread throughout the world. Send in the nice guys first(The Brotherhood), when they do their job of divide and conquer, then take power. Spaniards, Portuguese, Roman Catholics, all used this method and was more that successful.
Ask yourself how you would fare if you were in Syria, Iran, or Egypt right now? Do you like it the mental picture? Good because it is coming to a town near you. Read about the Ottomon Empire and you will see that Islam does not respond well with change. they rather will bring death to the one unwilling to convert.
Lazarus
Isn't this exactly what Barak Hussein Obama wants?
Actually Obama doesn't particularly like Al-Qaeda but he knows it's the best way to get the Muslim Brotherhood in after the fighting. He doesn't really have any choice but it has worked in Egypt, worked in Tunisia, working in Libya, should work in Syria.
You make him sound like some of the Snake handlers and poison drinkers in the radical Mountain Churches. He and all of us need to remember the story of the frog that gave a scorpion a ride across the river. The frog got stung and asked the scorpion why as he was dying, the scorpion just said "Well, you knew I was a scorpion when I climbed on your back."
Lazarus
Easy. Just find the ones that look most like Mexican drug cartels. Worked before.
"Will world inaction allow al-Qaeda to gain foothold in Syria?" Of course, that's certain. But the real question should be, what kind of action is NBC lobbying for? Without a doubt NBC would like America/ NATO intervention in Syria in order to end the authoritarian dictatorship of Assad. This will most certainly, as it has in all the trouble spots around the Middle East, result not in democracy. But our intervention more likely will result in a radical Islamic dictatorship, but not quite as extreme as al-Qaeda. Just look at Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. Mr Obama and his tools in the newsmedia would like anti-American, Islamic extremist dictatorships in control of the Arab dominated countries of the Middle East, but not al-Qaeda
Tell the greedy American defense contractors to go to Syria themselves and stop sacrificing our youth in the name of profit and more tanks, guns and planes
Richard Engle you rat! You say what the State dept. wants to be said and you don't let the facts get in your way, do you? You remind me of Richard Perle, that Mossad rat that played 'big bad Jew' until the Taliban pulled him aside and cut his frikken head off (Talk about 'talking head' huh guyz?). Thousands of Syrian (libyan's before this) civilians have been murdered for 'political' reasons and who the hell cares who the dead are, right Hillary? The bankrupt United Snakes oil thieves (US/Israel/NATO) may think that they can 'fake it' and just send in weapons and stay on the sidelines smiling as Sunni's slaughter Shiites - but in the end, the 'evil twins' are going to find that 'crime doesn't pay.'
hey wernt these are the guys who ran planes in are twin tower now its ok for us to freind them ..wake up and smell the conparsy are goverment a the bigest piese of dunn i have ever seen
I do not see why we are unable to have any influence in the region other than a mutated form the cold war is still active. Russia and China has used the Middle East as a sort of marketplace for the Arms trade to all the combatants. Russia is said to be recovering from its "Recovery" from Communism (laugh). China has boomed since the trade treaties we made with them to the point they spend huge amounts of money to build the largest Army in the Universe. China is inching towards India, but supports Syria. Syria is reported to have the largest stockpile of Biological and chemical warfare on that side of the world. Can anyone spell Armageddon?
The only answer I can see is that some miricle would happen to bring China, Russia, and the US together as big brothers over the insanity of war on our tiny planet.
The theory of NATO is good but the politics of the cold war needs to be removed. Human survival is a concern as the threat of a worldwide pandemic of one or many virulent biological agents are released into the ecosystem. Do not forget who these people are. They believe that Death is preferred to life because of all the virgins and such waiting for them. If we were to somehow get them to worship, santa clause instead then every day could be christmas. But unfortunately, the greater the ability of killing other humans the greater the body count will be. History should be enough to show the world that no one will be safe if a pandemic happens.
When the Europeans came to America, they carried genetic protection from ancient diseases like small pox. However, the indigenous peoples did not have the protections and were virtually wiped out.
The same will be true with any pandemics that occur. Sooner or later, all will be affected.
Lazarus
This is a religious civil war. Muslims fighting Muslims, sounds right to me. There are no good guys in this fight. Idle hands are the devils playground, let them keep busy with each other. Sell them all the ammo they can afford to buy. Give them nothing for free.
"Will world inaction help al-Qaida gain foothold in Syria?"
YUP
Yes, Assad is not a nice man and his fellow countrymen should want to overthrow him for a better government that they probably won't achieve but still worth a try I guess. We should continue to minimally support the rebels with arms and ammunition but no troops or aerial/naval support. That always comes back to haunt us in this part of the world and we need to get out of Afghanistan first before getting involved in some other war in the Middle East again if at all possible. Syria is little or no threat to the USA and if AQ comes in and is provided a safe haven to train for attacks on us or other countries, we should just bomb them into oblivion without any compensation to Syria and threat of continued bombing and targeting campaigns if they ever support AQ. No boots on the ground in Syria is necessary or called for.