WaPo | The Obama administration’s Syria strategy suffered a major setback
Sunday after fighters linked to al-Qaeda routed U.S.-backed rebels from
their main northern strongholds, capturing significant quantities of
weaponry, triggering widespread defections and ending hopes that
Washington will readily find Syrian partners in its war against the
Islamic State.
Moderate rebels who had been armed and trained by
the United States either surrendered or defected to the extremists as
the Jabhat al-Nusra group, affiliated with al-Qaeda, swept through the
towns and villages the moderates controlled in the northern province of
Idlib, in what appeared to be a concerted push to vanquish the moderate
Free Syrian Army, according to rebel commanders, activists and analysts.
Other
moderate fighters were on the run, headed for the Turkish border as the
extremists closed in, heralding a significant defeat for the rebel
forces Washington had been counting on as a bulwark against the Islamic
State.
Moderates still retain a strong presence in southern Syria, but the Islamic State has not been a major factor there.
A
senior Defense Department official said the Pentagon “is monitoring
developments as closely as possible” but could “not independently
verify” reports from the ground. The official was not authorized to
comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
