Obama Admin. Encounters Major Setback in Syria; Most US-Backed Rebels in North Go with Al-Qaeda

The Obama administration's Syria strategy suffered a major setback yesterday after fighters linked to al-Qaeda routed US-backed rebels from their main northern strongholds, capturing significant quantities of weaponry, triggering widespread defections, and ending hopes that Washington will find Syrian partners in its war against the Islamic State, the Washington Post website reports today (November 3, 2014).

Moderate rebels -- who had been armed and trained by the United States -- either surrendered or defected to the extremists affiliated with al-Qaeda, who swept through the towns and villages the moderates controlled in the northern province of Idlib, in what appeared to be a concerted push to vanquish the moderate Free Syrian Army.

Other moderate fighters were on the run, headed for the Turkish border as the extremists closed in, heralding a significant defeat for the rebel forces Washington had been counting on as a bulwark against the Islamic State.

Moderates still retain a strong presence in southern Syria, but the Islamic State has not been a major factor there.