Al Qaeda in Syria

Open Email to Congress:

Dear Representatives and Senators,
    The Washington Times says Syria has become Al Qaeda's largest safe haven with more than 10,000 fighters. This provides Al Qaeda with a new base to attract recruits to its jihadist doctrine and from which to attack the US.
    For those who don't normally follow terrorist activities, I remind you that Al Qaeda is a political organization responsible for the 9/11 disaster in New York, which destroyed the twin towers and killed several thousand people. I specify "political organization", because it is not confined to the geographical boundaries of countries. It is a segment within many countries. Jihadism is a religious term, with various interpretations. Extreme jihadists have an objective to kill those who they believe are detrimental to Islam. Extreme jihadists are the fundamental part of Al Qaeda and a declared enemy of the US.
    Just why Syria has become a new home for Al Qaeda is not clear. We can speculate that they are being solicited by either the Syrian government or the rebels, or have just infiltrated in the vacuum created by the Civil War.
     Because Al Qaeda has declared war against the US by its physical actions, such as the 9/11 attack, the US must respond. It can do so by resisting any further attacks against US citizens in the homeland, and/or preferentially, it can attack the enemy at its sources. Al Qaeda bases exist in various countries. At each base, it has a physical collection of administrative personnel, training recruits, and weapons accumulation. The most efficient way to control Al Qaeda is at those sources. Let us also be specific, that in such control, the US would not be engaged in an aggressive war, but rather in defense.
     It is said that the US cannot properly engage in this war of defense because of self-imposed limitations. The US cannot use drones without violating Syrian acid-base and it cannot deploy special operations forces in the country without joining in escalating the war.
    That is so much baloney! Syria is in turmoil, but there are clearly two interested parties. The US must say to the existing Syrian government and to the rebels that it expects them to expel all Al Qaeda operations in Syria within a month. If the US determines unilaterally that that has not been done, it will use its own countermeasures of drones and special forces to do the job. It will in no way be involving itself in the Syrian Civil War, but will be attacking only criminal forces in that country, which it perceives are a physical danger to US citizens.
    In addition, this should be the US policy in its defensive war against Al Qaeda anywhere in the world. Any regime or rebel organization in any country containing an Al Qaeda group will be perceived as harboring Al Qaeda. However, the subsequent US action will not be against the harboring country or rebel group, but rather only against Al Qaeda.