Alwaght- Qatar has been trying to depict the al-Nusra Front terrorist group, official al-Qaeda branch in Syria, as a moderate opposition force to win support of its allies in a bid to topple President Bashar Assad's government.
"The Qataris have convinced the new Saudi king that to topple Assad and punch a hole right in the middle of the Iranian sphere of influence in the region, they have to play with Jabhat al-Nusra [al-Nusra Front] and nudge them away from al-Qaeda,” Russian Sputnik news agency cited Kamran Bokhari, Middle East geopolitics expert, as saying.
During an interview with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV channel last week, al-Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani claimed his group had no intention of targeting the West, and only had designs on toppling the president Assad government. Although, in 2012, the US designated the al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organization, the US, Turkey and Qatar decided to back this al-Qaeda affiliated group after they reached an agreement with the Israeli regime which stipulated that the terrorist group abstain from the attacking the occupation regime and guarantee its security.
The Israeli regime has also opened its doors with Syria in order to provide medical treatment to terrorists fighting for ISIL, al-Nusra Front and Al-Qaeda Takfiri groups who were wounded in the ongoing fighting against the Syrian army.
The Wall Street Journal reported that al-Nusra Front "hasn't bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer" along the Golan Heights.
University of Oklahoma Professor Joshua Landis told Sputnik that Qatar and Al Jazeera’s attempts to spin the al-Nusra Front as moderate is certainly a risky approach. However, for Qatar and its allies it is a necessary evil.
"Yes, it is dangerous, but the alternative, according to the Sunni leaders, is to leave Assad in power,” Landis said.
US President Barack Obama, Landis added, has not publicly criticized Turkey's, Qatar's and Saudi Arabia's push to mainstream the al-Nusra Front.
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In Focus
Ansarullah
A Zaidi Shiite movement operating in Yemen. It seeks to establish a democratic government in Yemen.
Shiite
represents the second largest denomination of Islam. Shiites believe Ali (peace be upon him) to be prophet"s successor in the Caliphate.
Resistance
Axis of Resistances refers to countries and movements with common political goal, i.e., resisting against Zionist regime, America and other western powers. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Palestine are considered as the Axis of Resistance.
Persian Gulf Cooperation Council
A regional political u n i o n consisting of Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq.
Taliban
Taliban is a Sunni fundamentalist movement in Afghanistan. It was founded by Mohammed Omar in 1994.
Wahhabism & Extremism
Wahhabism is an extremist pseudo-Sunni movement, which labels non-Wahhabi Muslims as apostates thus paving the way for their bloodshed.
Kurds
Kurds are an ethnic group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region, which spans adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They are an Iranian people and speak the Kurdish languages, which form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian branch of Iranian languages.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949.
Islamic Awakening
Refers to a revival of the Islam throughout the world, that began in 1979 by Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic republic.
Al-Qaeda
A militant Sunni organization founded by Osama bin Laden at some point between 1988 and 1989
New node
Qatar Struggles to Mainstream Al-Nusra Terrorist Group: Prominent Expert
