Saudi Arabia Supporting a Hardline Coalition of Islamist Rebels, on Behalf of Washington

‘Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is actively supporting a hardline coalition of Islamist rebels against Bashar al-Assad’s regime that includes al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. The country is focusing its backing on the combined Jaish al-Fatah, or the Army of Conquest, a command structure for the jihadist groups in Syria that includes Jabhat al-Nusra, an extremist rival to Islamict State which shares many of its aspirations for a fundamentalist caliphate.

It threatens to trump Washington’s own attempt to train so-called “pro-Western opposition fighters”, announced by President Barack Obama a year ago but finally launched only last week. The number of fighters involved is small and, crucially, the State Department insists that they would take the field against Isis and not against the regime.’

Read more: Saudi Arabia Supporting a Hardline Coalition of Islamist Rebels, on Behalf of Washington