Once again Canada enunciates the position of the free world, while Obama endorses jihad. “Canada tells Syrian opposition it won’t be recognized until it rejects extremism: source,” by Kathryn Blaze Carlson and Stewart Bell for the National Post, December 11 (thanks to Stephen):
Canada told the Syrian opposition Tuesday it must reject extremism and embrace minorities before Ottawa will recognize its legitimacy as a successor to President Bashar Al-Assad, according to a federal official.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird explained Canada’s preconditions for official recognition at a meeting with representatives of the opposition Syrian National Coalition in Morocco on Tuesday, the official said.
“He outlined the importance of rejecting extremism, the inclusion of minorities, and the importance of the role of women in a post-Assad era,” said the official, who did not want to be named.
On Wednesday, Mr. Baird will publicly spell out those preconditions during an address before the Friends of the Syrian People meeting “” a gathering of more than 100 countries in Morocco’s Marrakesh working to bolster legitimate opposition to the Assad regime.
While France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council have already recognized the newly formed Syrian National Coalition, and while the U.S. was expected to do so Wednesday, Mr. Baird was taking a more cautious approach.
The international gathering comes as Western nations struggle to co-operate with the Syrian resistance while at the same time sideline al-Qaeda-aligned extremists who have been trying to hijack the anti-Assad opposition.
In an attempt to isolate extremist factions, the U.S. State Department outlawed the al-Nusrah Front as a terrorist organization on Tuesday, saying it was an arm of al-Qaeda in Iraq and was not supported by the majority of Syrians.
“The violent, sectarian vision of al-Nusrah is at odds with the aspirations of the Syrian people, including the overwhelming majority of the Syrian opposition, who seek a free, democratic and inclusive Syria,” said Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman.
Although it portrays itself as part of the Syrian opposition, al-Nusrah is in fact controlled by an al-Qaeda boss in Iraq and has killed innocent Syrians in attacks, which have included more than 40 suicide bombings, Ms. Nuland said….