“In places like Syria, vetting can be unreliable and inconsistent,” Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told me via email. “So far, the administration has not made a compelling case that it can differentiate between the factions, or that it even knows the makeup of the factions. The conclusions it has drawn as a result of its vetting are in stark contrast to the briefings I’ve received, and I remain concerned that a large part of these rebels pose a great threat to our interests.”
The true nature of the Syrian rebels has turned into perhaps the pivotal issue in the intervention debate. Among the many question that opponents of intervention have, perhaps the most fundamental is this: Who are we helping?
The question came up when Secretary of State John Kerry visited both House and Senate foreign affairs committees this week. And it became clear that there are stark differences in opinion — and “opinion” seems the right word — over who is who in the Syrian opposition.
“Who are the rebel forces?” asked McCaul, who receives classified briefings in his role with the Homeland Security Committee. “Every time I get briefed on this it gets worse and worse, because the majority now of these rebel forces — and I say majority now — are radical Islamists pouring in from all over the world to come to Syria for the fight.”
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