Why Kerry Wants to Strike Syria

Yesterday, shortly after I posted a column on Secretary of State John Kerry’s push to have the White House approve U.S. strikes on Syrian airfields -- and how Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey pushed back strongly against the idea -- I heard from a number of people who support Kerry’s stance and think that the Pentagon is being unnecessarily timid.

...6. The rebels aren’t the lunatics the Pentagon believes them to be. The State Department has been working for some time with the more moderate leaders among the fractured and disputatious rebel alliance. It believes not only that it can do business with many of these leaders, but also that by doing business with them it will strengthen them. Several months ago, when I ducked across the Jordan-Syria border and met with some of the rebels, I took note of their long beards, a sign of religious intensity. The rebels were quick to tell me that they only grew beards because the more radical Islamists among them had the best weapons, and would only supply these weapons to like-minded rebels. In other words, the beards were simply a marketing tool, not an expression of sincere radicalism. If the more moderate among the rebels suddenly began receiving heavier weapons from the Americans, they would be empowered, and the Islamists marginalized. Read more

It has been a norm for large part of the Rebel group, grow long beard for their expression of loyalty to the radicals for exchange weapons, so simple logic is grow beard you can get the best weapon from radicals, and shaving beard you can get the US et al weapons THEN the largest part of the Rebel will shave their beard tomorrow for sure!

UPDATE: You would all agree, the FSA Revolutionary is all involved fighting criminal Assad for toppling him are free will, volunteered, no one forced to do, regardless what other enemies Russia et al says, they are the heroes of Syria, yes they are not angles, they did few things that are out of desperation of lack of resources, and their personal tragic events... can not compare to what criminal assad's deliberate organised crimes, very small fraction of, they are the heroes of new Syria for sure!
I underlined.