Kerry portrait of Syria rebels at odds with intelligence reports | Reuters - 0 views
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Secretary of State John Kerry's public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements. At congressional hearings this week, while making the case for President Barack Obama's plan for limited military action in Syria, Kerry asserted that the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "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."And the opposition is getting stronger by the day," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.U.S. and allied intelligence sources and private experts on the Syrian conflict suggest that assessment is optimistic.
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The linked article points to multiple intelligence reports and disagreeing opinions by experts, both inside government and out. To top it off, Kerry's stated source of information, the author of a Wall Street Journal article, concealed her ties to a Syrian opposition lobbying group along with her own prior inconsistent statements. See e.g., Daniel Greenfield, The Wall Street Journal's Misleading Report on the "Moderate" Syrian Opposition, Front Page Mag (2 September 2013), http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/the-wall-street-journals-misleading-report-on-the-moderate-syrian-opposition/ (debunking Journal article using its author's own prior statements) Charles C. Johnson, Woman informing Kerry, McCain's opinions on Syria also an advocate for Syrian rebels, The Daily Caller (5 September 2013), http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/woman-informing-kerry-mccains-opinions-on-syria-also-an-advocate-for-syrian-rebels/ Michael Calderone, Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Draws Scrutiny Over Writer's Ties To Syrian Rebel Advocacy Group, Huffington Post (6 September 2013), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/wall-street-journal-syria-elizabeth-obagy_n_3881477.html Max Blumenthal, Shady PR operatives, pro-Israel ties, anti-Castro money: Inside the Syrian opposition's DC spin machine, Mondoweiss (7 September 2013), nofollow