Some Rebels Worry About Extremists, but Assad Comes First

By Reese Erlich
TruthDig

"....At the same time, Ahrar and other opposition groups strongly oppose U.S. policy in the region. They want the return of Syria’s Golan Heights, seized by Israel in the 1967 War. They support Palestinian rights and oppose U.S. aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan.

None of those political views make Washington very happy. Opposition leaders assume that the U.S. is searching for pro-American leaders to take over once Assad falls.....

While the regime of President Bashar al-Assad accuses the rebels of being controlled by the U.S., the reality is more complicated. Syrians, even those seeking military aid, reject U.S. domination of their revolution....

Some secular Syrians don’t trust the Brotherhood’s rhetoric, however. Miral Biroredda, spokesman for the Local Coordinating Committees in Hasakah city, said the “Islamists say they want a democratic country, but I don’t believe them.”

However, both secularists and the Muslim Brotherhood agree on the danger posed by ultra-right Islamist fighters from Iraq and other countries now operating in Syria. One such group recently kidnapped two Western freelance journalists.

Such groups, Mushaweh said, “are very limited in number. They do things that don’t reflect the uprising.”

While ultra-rightists may gain temporary popularity because of their fighting skills, activists say, Syrians will reject such groups if Assad is overthrown.

“These foreign extremists won’t be allowed to stay in Syria,” Biroredda said. “When the regime falls and the civil movements rise again, these people will go back home.”....."