After reviewing the questioning of John Kerry in Congress, I conclude he lied [View all]

[David Krout]

Here is the question Senator Johnson asked Kerry. In summary, he asked Kerry whether the opposition in Syria, which began as widely moderate, has become more dominated by extremists groups over time. See Kerry's response too:

SEN. JOHNSON: What do we know about the opposition? I mean, what is -- have we been tracking them for the last two years? I mean, it seems like -- and this is more of an impression I have as opposed to any exact knowledge, but it seems like initially, the opposition was maybe more Western-leaning, more moderate, more democratic, and as time has gone by, it's degraded, become more infiltrated by al-Qaida. That -- is that basically true? Or to -- (inaudible) -- has that happened?

SEC. KERRY: No, that is -- no, that is actually basically not true. It's basically incorrect. The opposition has increasingly become more defined by its moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership and more defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution, which will be broad-based and secular with respect to the future of Syria. And that's very critical.

I found a Reuters article in August in which we are told:

More than two years of a revolt-turned civil war have turned Syria into a magnet for jihadists from across the world, fuelling fears foreign military assistance might fall into the hands of fighters hostile to the West.

That has served only to strengthen the hand of Islamist brigades whose regional backers, many of them private Gulf donors, have been more forthcoming with support.

In recent weeks, al Qaeda-linked groups attacked several Alawite villages in the coastal province of Latakia, Assad's stronghold. They also seized a strategic airport in Aleppo province that Syrian rebels failed for months to take.

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the al-Nusra Front, both of which acknowledge the authority of al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahri, are now the ultimate rulers in many rebel-held towns.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/25/us-syria-rebels-idUSBRE97O07I20130825

Note how we're told in Reuters just a month ago that "and now" (implying that wasn't the case at an earlier stage) Ayman Zawahri's disciples dominate certain areas.

Now you tell me if that sounds to you like moderates in Syria have kept or increase their share of power in the opposition, or whether extremists have "infiltrated" the opposition over time.