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AN ISLAMIC STATE, AL-QAEDA AND THE TALIBAN'S COMMON DREAM IN SYRIA
11:40 27/07/2013 " IN THE WORLD
An interview of Irdiplomacy.ir with Hossein Rooyvaran, an expert on
Middle Eastern affairs
- A senior Taliban member has talked about establishing a base
in Syria. Is there any precedence for the presence of the Taliban
in Syria?
- The Taliban, as an organization, has, hitherto, not had any presence
or activity in Syria, but its special relations with al-Qaeda are
clearly defined and they both follow the same ideology. Considering
the presence of al-Qaeda in Syria, through the al-Nusra Front and
Ahrar ash-Sham, there is the possibility that they would pursue such a
matter within the framework of the al-Qaeda organizations. That is why
I assume that, by nature, the Taliban has no basis for its presence
in Syria, but such a measure can be taken through al-Qaeda. It is on
the basis of these religious and ethnic approaches that the Taliban
has been attracted towards Syria.
- The commander of the Free Syrian Army has been killed by the al-Nusra
Front. Serious rifts have been created among Bashar Assad's opponents
with the prolongation of the crisis in Syria. What are the differences
between the opponents of the central government in Syria?
- Clashes and tension between the Free Syrian Army and the al-Nusra
Front are inevitable because the Free Syrian Army pursues change
in the political structure in Syria and has defined its objectives
completely within the national framework. On the other hand, the
al-Nusra Front seeks the establishment of an Islamic state in Syria.
Therefore, the main difference between the objectives of these two
groups is summarized in Syria. The Free Army considers Syria as a
platform to reach power, but al-Qaeda's power-seeking is based on
the establishment of an Islamic state based on an al-Qaeda model. The
contrast in their viewpoints has led to this confrontation.
This is not the first clash between them; they have clashed several
times in Ras al-Ayn, Sheikhun, and Aleppo. Their recent clashes
showed that some claims stating that the al-Nusra Front does not
have a strong base and that it is the Syrian government and Syria's
supporters that exaggerate the extent of this front were incorrect.
The reason is that the al-Nusra Front, at the present time, by
assassinating Riad al-Asaad, the commander of the Free Syrian Army,
showed that it has more power than the army and the success of this
front in assassinating an individual who has certainly had bodyguards
shows that the threat of al-Nusra in Syria is serious. There is the
possibility that the Free Syrian Army and the opposition front which
are mainly secular and reside in the West, and are of course organized
by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are not accepted by the al-Nusra Front
and they would be assassinated in case any of them return to Syria.
- Under conditions when the US has put the al-Nusra Front on its black
list due to its terrorist activities, this group is equipped with
the heaviest military equipments. Is al-Nusra the secret receiving
hand in Syria?
- Up until now, no country has announced having provided weapons to
al-Nusra. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have claimed to support the
Free Syrian Army. Nevertheless, we witness that al-Nusra has better
weaponry in the field. This by itself shows that the transfer of
weapons from the Free Army to al-Nusra is automatically done. In
other words, there is no control over the Free Army's weapons and
infiltrators have transferred these weapons to al-Nusra. On the
ground, this is a fact that cannot be denied. Despite the fact that no
supporter of the opposition admits having provide weapons to al-Nusra,
in practice they fight in different fronts with better military
readiness than the Free Syrian Army. Such a trend raises the question
as to who provides weapons to them. In Syria, no group except the
government and the Free Syrian Army possesses weapons. Therefore, there
is a possibility that al-Nusra supporters infiltrate the Free Army.
- Do you consider a role for the Western countries in equipping
al-Nusra and supporting its activities?
- The fact of the matter is that the West has led al-Nusra to
be slaughtered in the fight against the Syrian Army. A military
confrontation between these two is ultimately in the interest of the US
and Israel. Al-Nusra has not yet received weapons directly from the US
and the US has not officially admitted the transfer of weapons to them.
This is true in the case of Saudi Arabia. The only country in the
Arab world supporting al-Nusra was Qatar which had worked with Takfiri
Salafists. Nevertheless, the level of financial support had been more
than military support. At the beginning, al-Nusra paid lots of money
for Western weapons coming from Iraq and transferred them to Syria.
This shows that the West has not tried to directly interact with
al-Nusra and al-Qaeda. The West, rather, has tried to provide financial
support to them through Qatar so that they could somehow obtain
weapons. However, some of al-Nusra's weapons have been obtained from
the Syrian Army after the fall of some garrisons and/or most of these
weapons have been attained indirectly through the Free Syrian Army.
Source: Panorama.am
11:40 27/07/2013 " IN THE WORLD
An interview of Irdiplomacy.ir with Hossein Rooyvaran, an expert on
Middle Eastern affairs
- A senior Taliban member has talked about establishing a base
in Syria. Is there any precedence for the presence of the Taliban
in Syria?
- The Taliban, as an organization, has, hitherto, not had any presence
or activity in Syria, but its special relations with al-Qaeda are
clearly defined and they both follow the same ideology. Considering
the presence of al-Qaeda in Syria, through the al-Nusra Front and
Ahrar ash-Sham, there is the possibility that they would pursue such a
matter within the framework of the al-Qaeda organizations. That is why
I assume that, by nature, the Taliban has no basis for its presence
in Syria, but such a measure can be taken through al-Qaeda. It is on
the basis of these religious and ethnic approaches that the Taliban
has been attracted towards Syria.
- The commander of the Free Syrian Army has been killed by the al-Nusra
Front. Serious rifts have been created among Bashar Assad's opponents
with the prolongation of the crisis in Syria. What are the differences
between the opponents of the central government in Syria?
- Clashes and tension between the Free Syrian Army and the al-Nusra
Front are inevitable because the Free Syrian Army pursues change
in the political structure in Syria and has defined its objectives
completely within the national framework. On the other hand, the
al-Nusra Front seeks the establishment of an Islamic state in Syria.
Therefore, the main difference between the objectives of these two
groups is summarized in Syria. The Free Army considers Syria as a
platform to reach power, but al-Qaeda's power-seeking is based on
the establishment of an Islamic state based on an al-Qaeda model. The
contrast in their viewpoints has led to this confrontation.
This is not the first clash between them; they have clashed several
times in Ras al-Ayn, Sheikhun, and Aleppo. Their recent clashes
showed that some claims stating that the al-Nusra Front does not
have a strong base and that it is the Syrian government and Syria's
supporters that exaggerate the extent of this front were incorrect.
The reason is that the al-Nusra Front, at the present time, by
assassinating Riad al-Asaad, the commander of the Free Syrian Army,
showed that it has more power than the army and the success of this
front in assassinating an individual who has certainly had bodyguards
shows that the threat of al-Nusra in Syria is serious. There is the
possibility that the Free Syrian Army and the opposition front which
are mainly secular and reside in the West, and are of course organized
by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are not accepted by the al-Nusra Front
and they would be assassinated in case any of them return to Syria.
- Under conditions when the US has put the al-Nusra Front on its black
list due to its terrorist activities, this group is equipped with
the heaviest military equipments. Is al-Nusra the secret receiving
hand in Syria?
- Up until now, no country has announced having provided weapons to
al-Nusra. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have claimed to support the
Free Syrian Army. Nevertheless, we witness that al-Nusra has better
weaponry in the field. This by itself shows that the transfer of
weapons from the Free Army to al-Nusra is automatically done. In
other words, there is no control over the Free Army's weapons and
infiltrators have transferred these weapons to al-Nusra. On the
ground, this is a fact that cannot be denied. Despite the fact that no
supporter of the opposition admits having provide weapons to al-Nusra,
in practice they fight in different fronts with better military
readiness than the Free Syrian Army. Such a trend raises the question
as to who provides weapons to them. In Syria, no group except the
government and the Free Syrian Army possesses weapons. Therefore, there
is a possibility that al-Nusra supporters infiltrate the Free Army.
- Do you consider a role for the Western countries in equipping
al-Nusra and supporting its activities?
- The fact of the matter is that the West has led al-Nusra to
be slaughtered in the fight against the Syrian Army. A military
confrontation between these two is ultimately in the interest of the US
and Israel. Al-Nusra has not yet received weapons directly from the US
and the US has not officially admitted the transfer of weapons to them.
This is true in the case of Saudi Arabia. The only country in the
Arab world supporting al-Nusra was Qatar which had worked with Takfiri
Salafists. Nevertheless, the level of financial support had been more
than military support. At the beginning, al-Nusra paid lots of money
for Western weapons coming from Iraq and transferred them to Syria.
This shows that the West has not tried to directly interact with
al-Nusra and al-Qaeda. The West, rather, has tried to provide financial
support to them through Qatar so that they could somehow obtain
weapons. However, some of al-Nusra's weapons have been obtained from
the Syrian Army after the fall of some garrisons and/or most of these
weapons have been attained indirectly through the Free Syrian Army.
Source: Panorama.am