The Syrian civil war has resulted in the deaths of 150,000 people, more than 500,000 injured and millions displaced internally and outside Syria. The country is increasingly viewed as a hotbed and training ground for transnational (especially Sunni) jihadists. This troublesome phenomenon, including the possibility that Syria will become a safe haven from terrorists, as Afghanistan was prior to 9/11 – and is still to some extent – merits further elucidation.

According to James Clapper, Director of U.S. National Intelligence in January 2014 U.S. congressional testimony, there are some 100,000 rebels fighting Assad’s forces, of which about 25,000 are “extremists.” Director Clapper further estimated that foreign Sunni jihadi fighters traveling to and participating on behalf of disparate Syrian insurgent forces originate from more than 50 countries, and number some 7,000 persons. In February 2014, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry estimated the number of foreign fighters in Syria between 7,000 and 11,000 persons from about 70 nations. These foreign fighters have come from across the globe (e.g., Canada, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, Chechnya, Kosovo), although mostly from the Middle East and North Africa.