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Report: ’15 Groups Stand Ready To Succeed ISIS’

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Russ Read Pentagon/Foreign Policy Reporter
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New research suggests that there are 15 major groups ready to take over if ISIS is destroyed.

report published Dec. 21 from the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Center on Religion and Geopolitics has found that ISIS is not the only group that could spell trouble for international security, as many as 15 others could be just as dangerous. The report also notes that “Sixty per cent of major Syrian rebel groups are Islamist extremists,” throwing into doubt the veracity of so-called ‘moderate’ rebel groups operating within the war-torn country. Additionally, the study finds one out of three fighters, approximately 100,000 total, share ISIS ideological goals.

“Syria’s rebels cannot be divided into radicals and moderates,” notes the report. The need to find and equip a ‘moderate’ Syrian rebel force is a key talking point from politicians and policymakers, including the Obama Administration. After spending a remarkable $500 million to train a Syrian rebel force, Army Gen. Lloyd Austin of U.S. Central Command says the program produced a dismal “four or five” fighters. The Department of Defense has since suspended the program.

The center notes several other key points based on its research, many of which conflict with the apparent U.S. policy in Syria.

“Unless Assad goes, the Syrian war will go on and spread further,” warns the center. A whopping 90 percent of groups “hold the ousting of Assad as a major goal,” according to research. The news stands in contrast to Secretary of State Kerry’s recent statement, “the United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change.” Kerry’s comments followed a meeting with Russian officials in Moscow last week.

“The world’s inaction drives the growth of extremism,” notes the report’s final key finding. The center points out that after the world failed to act when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on rebels and civilians, “rebel groups consolidated to strengthen their hands against the regime.”

The center notes that the “greatest danger to the international community are the groups that share the ideology of ISIS, but are being ignored in the battle to defeat the group.”

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Tags : isis syria
Russ Read