WATCH: Obama's Fight Against ISIS Is a Gamble, but One the U.S. Is Willing to Take
In Syria, Obama believes he can differentiate between 'good rebels' and 'bad rebels,' arming moderates with the hope that the situation there doesn't turn into another Afghanistan, says START's Dr. Gary Ackerman.

U.S. President Barack Obama knows that expanding his military operation against Islamic State militants from Iraq to Syria is a gamble, but one the United States is willing to take.
- ISIS Wants to Conquer World
- 'US Must Eviscerate ISIS, Like Al-Qaida'
- Is the Gaza War Really Over?
- 'U.S., Iran May Secretly Collaborate'
- IS Recruits Women in U.S. Heartland
- WATCH: 'Look Who's Hawking.' Jon Stewart Taunts Obama's New War Posture
- Report: U.S. Providing Syria With anti-IS Intel
- Some More Willing Than Others in anti-IS Coalition
- U.S. Lawmakers May Arm Syrian Rebels
- Al-Qaida Said to Ask IS to Free U.K. Charity Worker
- IS Threatens Obama in New Video
- Obama: U.S. Intel Read IS Wrong in Syria
That according to Dr. Gary Ackerman, director of the Special Projects Division at START, the largest terrorism research center in the world.
In an interview with Aimee Amiga for Haaretz.com, Ackerman said the moderate rebels of today can become the extremists of tomorrow and, as such, arming them to support their fight against Islamic State could backfire. However, he said, the White House believes it now knows how to differentiate between "good rebels" and "bad rebels," and will empower them with the hope that the situation in Syria does not turn into another Afghanistan, where the United States armed what was to become Al-Qaida.
In their interview, Amiga and Ackerman also looked at whether the United States' fight against extremist rebels would in effect turn Obama into Syrian President Bashar Assad's ally, and whether U.S. airstrikes in Syria would be considered a violation of the latter's sovereignty under international law.
Click here for Part Two of this interview, "U.S., Iran May Collaborate Secretly on ISIS, Analyst Says."
Related videos:
WATCH: ISIS wants to take over the world, says ex-Pentagon adviser
WATCH: U.S. must eviscerate ISIS, like Al-Qaida, says ex-Pentagon adviser
WATCH: Israel, don't expect the world to rid Gaza of rockets like it did Syria of chemical weapons
WATCH: Analyst: Israel is caring more for Gaza civilians than U.S. did in Iraq
WATCH: Has the Gaza war secured Netanyahu’s political future?
WATCH: 'Only racists blame Jews for Israel's war in Gaza'
WATCH: Is Israel ending its Gaza operation?
WATCH: Is the Gaza war really over?
Click the alert icon to follow topics:
Comments
ICYMI

Three Years Later, Israelis Find Out What Trump Really Thought of Netanyahu
The Rival Jewish Spies Who Almost Changed the Course of WWII
What Does a Jew Look Like? The Brits Don't Seem to Know
'I Have No Illusions About Ending the Occupation, but the Government Needs the Left'

Russia-Ukraine War Catapults Israeli Arms Industry to Global Stage
