Syrian Rebel Group Pledges Loyalty To al-Qaida

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. Would that it were so simple.

Among the rebels, it is basically warlordism, with local commanders running little gangs/unit/squads of armed rebels and scrambling for the cash and the arms to strengthen their positions vis a vis one another, not to mention the government forces and their allies. The Free Syrian Army seems to be largely a fiction, at least in terms of military control. Local militias or self-defense forces are popping up everywhere.

While I agree that there is a broad division among the rebels, I don't know that "secularists" is the right word for the non-jihadis. Most of the rebel fighters seem to be strongly Islamic, even if they don't like the crazies. Syria was a secular state; Damascus and Aleppo were relatively cosmopolitan, especially when compared to the rural countryside. Women wore jeans in Damscus; they wore veils in the countryside, which is where the rebels are strong.

And there is criminality on all sides. And connections with criminal organizations. Sometimes its hard to tell the criminal organizations from the (para)military ones. Criminal organizations thrive in civil wars.