In the State Department’s analysis, the “extremists” consisted mainly of the al-Nusra Front, which was looking increasingly dangerous as the year 2012 neared its end. Not only was the group indisputably linked to al-Qaeda terrorists, but it also was emerging among the rebels as one of their most effective military organizations, as well as a preferred destination for many of the incoming foreign fighters. Even al-Nusra’s relatively moderate—by al-Qaeda’s standards—behavior was cause for alarm. Though its leaders insisted on imposing strict Sharia law in villages they “liberated,” they largely
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