Jabhat Al-Nusra

Jabhat Al-Nusra is a Salafist fighting group in Syria, formed in late 2011 and allied with - but rejecting the perceived pro-West constraints on - the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The group is also called Al-Nusra Front (Arabic: جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام‎ Ansar al-Jebhat al-Nusra li-Ahl al-Sham, meaning: "Supporters of the Front for Victory of the People of Syria") and bears the flag shown at right. Generally considered one of the most effective and best-supported groups in the struggle against Syria's government (sometimes called "Syria's Best Rebel Fighters"), they became infamous for gross violations of Human Rights and were listed by the United States as a terrorist organization in December 2012.

A January 2013 "strategic briefing" by Noman Benotman and Roisin Blake of the anti-extremist think-tank Quilliam Foundation gives a quite detailed report of origins, goals and strategy of the organization.

An Effective Force
The New York Times reported how rebel fighters had come to value Al-Nusra "because of its fighters’ bravery and reliable supply of money and arms." Further, they reported the Front "has never come under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, shunning the Western aid and input that other groups have sought, but it coordinates closely with many who do."

(more forthcoming...)

A Criminal Force
(forthcoming...)

Jabhat Al-Nusra was one of the few groups to explicitly refuse recognizing UN envoy Brahimi's late October Eid Al-Adha cease-fire proposal, to which both the government and the FSA agreed. The cease-fire was shattered almost immediately by, among other things, terrorist car bombings in Damascus thought to be carried out by the Front.

Balancing Act
There is a widespread but not necessarily true belief that Syria's rebels turn or will turn to Islamic extremist groups like Jabhat Al-Nusra, due to a lack of Western support, a mangled "Jihad vs. McWorld" conception. The young boy in Syria seen at left, partaking in an early December demonstration in Isqat (far north), apparently understands the perceived problem (unless he didn't really make the sign).

However, it's entirely conceivable, to put it mildly, for the opposition in whole to take the support of both the West and the Jihadists, and use them together for an end more in line with the goals of one side or the other. All the talk of balance might be nothing more than a clever opposition playing supporters off against each other to accelerate a competition of support they can reap profitably on both ends.

US Listing as a Terrorist Group
The decision to list the Front as a terrorist organization, thus criminalizing privite support for the group, was announced in late November, during the lead-up to the "Friends of Syria" meeting set for December 12, 2012 in Marrakesh, Morocco. The actual listing by the U.S. State Department came on December 10, following immediately president Obama's extension of recognition to the new Rebel council as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. The Christian Science Monitor reported on the move made with "lightning speed":
 * The speed with which the US government moved to designate a fairly new group that has never attacked US interests and is engaged in fighting a regime that successive administrations have demonized is evidence of the strange bedfellows and overlapping agendas that make the Syrian civil war so explosive.

The State Department confirmed earlier accusations that Jabhat Al-Nusra was a direct offshoot of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Protest Against the Listing
Many rebels who'd been fighting with Al-Nusra, enjoying its often-stunning successes, and not being too upset with its cruel excesses, voiced displeasure with the decision and protested. As the New York Times reported:
 * ''But a growing number of anti-government groups — including fighters in the loose-knit Free Syrian Army that the United States is trying to bolster — have signed petitions or posted statements online in recent days expressing support for the Nusra Front. In keeping with a tradition throughout the uprising of choosing themes for Friday protests, the biggest day for demonstrations because it coincides with Friday Prayer, many called for this Friday’s title to be “No to American intervention — we are all Jabhet al-Nusra.”

Lindey Hilsum, Channel 4 (UK) wrote on the more official response:
 * “There is nothing wrong with fighting in the name of Islam,” said the coalition leader, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, a moderate imam, in his speech to assembled ministers and diplomats. He requested the Americans to reconsider their decision.


 * “We will work with everybody on the ground who has an agenda which includes ending the suffering of the Syrian people,” said Yaser Tabbara, a coalition spokesman. “If al-Nusra is on the same page, they will be dealt with using dialogue and containment.”

Guardian reporter Martin Chulov, a reliable ally of the rebels all along, expressed shock at the protests with the following tweet:
 * Choking on coffees in Marrakesh: #Syrian oppn leader Khatib asks US to reverse decisn to brand Jabhat al-lNusra terrorists #news