MESOP NEWS TODAYS EXPERT INSIGHT SYRIA / AL QAEDA UP TO DATE (CLICK BOTTOM LINK FOR ALL EXPERTS)

23 March 2017 – Al Qaeda Takes Advantage in Syria | Bennett Seftel, The Cipher Brief
While the U.S. remains focused on defeating ISIS in Syria and Iraq, al Qaeda in Syria is accumulating strength at an alarming pace and may eventually pose the most daunting counterterrorism challenge that the U.S. has ever faced.
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/al-qaeda-takes-advantage-syria-1089?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&utm_campaign=fe5062c996-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02cbee778d-fe5062c996-122492169
Expert Commentary

Al Qaeda in Syria Can Change Its Name, But Not Its Stripes | Colin Clarke, Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
Following recent infighting with other Syrian rebel groups in the northwestern part of the country, al Qaeda in Syria appears to have recognized the need to secure legitimacy and present itself to the civilian population it seeks to influence as an authentically Syrian entity.
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/al-qaeda-syria-can-change-its-name-not-its-stripes-1089?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&utm_campaign=fe5062c996-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02cbee778d-fe5062c996-122492169
How Al Qaeda Exploited the Syrian Civil War | Charles Lister, Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute
“Al Qaeda has methodically enhanced its standing in Syria and finds itself in 2017 as arguably the most influential, explicitly anti-regime actor in the conflict.”

https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/how-al-qaeda-exploited-syrian-civil-war-1089?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&utm_campaign=fe5062c996-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02cbee778d-fe5062c996-122492169