The Jihadi Spiral

• Aron Lund

As Syrian rebels become more extreme, the only winner will be Bashar al-Assad.

• February 08, 2017 | http://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/67911?lang=en

After years of byzantine internal disputes, Syria’s armed rebels are suddenly gathering into large, centrally directed organizations of the kind they always needed to threaten President Bashar al-Assad’s authoritarian regime. But rather than a winning move, these last-minute unifications look more like the prelude to ultimate defeat. The balance of power in opposition-held northern Syria has now swung sharply in favor of hardline Islamists and an internationally targeted jihadi group, whoshttp://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/67911?lang=ene growing influence is more likely to drive Western states over to Assad’s side than to topple him.