The Wall Street Journal published an article by Reuel Marc Gerecht headlined "The Next Breeding Ground for Global Jihad" devoted to the Syrian crisis and its impact on the region and the whole world.
"When President Obama declared that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad must "step aside" two years ago, many believed that it was only a matter of time before the U.S. intervened on behalf of the rebels battling the regime. Now that seems increasingly out of the question. The growing power of hard-core Islamic radicals among the rebels has made the White House, and many in Congress, look upon the Syrian opposition with little enthusiasm. Instead, Washington focuses on the charade of trying to relieve Assad of his chemical weapons, as if that will have any effect on the civil war," the article begins.
According to the author, the delay only makes the Syrian opposition more radical and the position of Islamist groups stronger. If the Assad government remains in power for two more years, no one will be able to rescue the Syrian Sunni community, he writes.
The only positive thing is that the percentage of Islamists in the Syrian opposition is relatively small. There are only 15 percent of them. This means that the United States still has a chance to interfere in the crisis in order to support the moderate rebels and prevent the Islamization of Syria.
The US won't be able to get away from the Islamist threat if an Islamist movement wins in Syria, Gerecht believes. America should remember the case of Afghanistan and learn the lessons of the 90s, he writes.
