Jihadists Are Infiltrating Syria's Uprising Whether the U.S. Wants to Admit It or Not

There's a Jihad in Syria.

While generally not described this way in the West for political reasons, the fighting is primarily a Sunni Arab uprising against an apostate Alawite regime—a “Jihad” if the term has any meaning. And while their numbers are likely small, fighters answering the religious call to holy war are certainly a component of the resistance.

The U.S. must begin to accept and understand these two realities in order to anticipate the likely trajectory of the conflict and prepare for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s downfall.

Despite the evidence, there is a clear hesitation to use "Syria" and "Jihad" in the same sentence. This is largely a function of political considerations. Americans hear “Jihad” and think “Al Qaeda,” with all the horrific connotations that brings.

The distinction between classical Jihad as a broader concept, and the specific flavor of offensive Jihad advanced by Al Qaeda is too narrow for most observers to parse.

But even if Syria is more of a defensive Jihad along the lines of the 1980's anti-Soviet fight in Afghanistan, some disconcerting facts have already emerged. Al Qaida’s current number one, Ayman al-Zawahiri, openly called for Jihad in Syria earlier this year. Foreign fighters— a hallmark of Jihadist involvement—have been mixed in with the uprising for months, and there are almost certainly Al Qaeda elements joining the fray.

So far the overall number of such Jihadists among the resistance appears small, but they continue to pour in. The Syrian government, with no sense of irony, officially complained to the United Nations last month about 19 Tunisian foreign fighters captured on its soil. Tunisian imams, according to press reports, have told their young male followers to stop running off to Syria for the Jihad. Imams as far away as Germany, meanwhile, are using the conflict to raise funds, which will almost certainly end up buying food, medical supplies, and weapons for the resistance.

Nearby Iraqi Jihadists in particular could become critical to the fight. Damascus is drivable from Baghdad, and a considerable cadre of seasoned insurgents waits just across the border. Many of the tactics and techniques used against Coalition soldiers could be repeated against Assad’s sprawling security apparatus. It might be only a matter of time before the Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFP’s) that wreaked havoc against Coalition forces during Operation Enduring Freedom reappear to dismember Assad’s tanks and troop transports.

Iraq is also an instructive example in intra-insurgency politics. Al Qaida in Iraq (AQI) was one several major insurgent groups fighting against the Coalition in Iraq. Some of the others were explicitly nationalist in their aims, such as former Ba’athist factions. Even at its height, AQI probably never numbered more than the low thousands, but under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s leadership they quickly became the vanguard of the Iraqi insurgency. AQI conducted many of the most high-profile and deadly attacks, including the bombing of the U.N compound in Baghdad and the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

Of course, every conflict is different, and Iraq is not Syria. But while the Syrian people generally oppose radical Jihadists, they may turn to their asymmetrical warfare skills and fanatical devotion to help counter Assad’s vicious total warfare. As Assad’s regime crumbles, an internal struggle could ensue as hardliners push the most democratic, modern factions aside.

History shows us that hijacking a revolution is often easier than starting one. The most hardened soldiers of Jihad have been in the minority before during a conflict, only to seize the reins of power through a combination of zeal, brutality, and dedication in the end.

We would be wise not to underestimate the ability of the most devoted fighters in Syria’s escalating civil war to bend others to their will.

Buck Sexton is a former Central Intelligence Agency Officer with the Counterterrorism Center and the Office of Iraq Analysis. Currently, he is National Security Editor for TheBlaze.com. Watch Buck Sexton discuss the situation in Syria in a clip below from "Real News From The Blaze," where Sexton appears Monday through Friday on GBTV.