Indeed, the “nationalist" opposition is merely an assortment of factions responsible for protecting small territories, and the “Free Syrian Army" is little more than a fantasy. The stark reality is that the best-organized groups are the jihadists: the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the Islamic Front.
叙利亚冲突的另一个独特之处是其不对称性，这一不对称性来自冲突所包括的众多不同的行动方。常规军队只有两支：库尔德武装和忠于总统巴沙尔的部队。反对派由依赖外国赞助的派系组成。事实上，“民族主义”反对派只是众多负责保护小片领土的派系的松散组合，“自由叙利亚军”（Free Syrian Army）则无异于幻想。严峻的事实是组织最好的集团是圣战者：伊斯兰国、叙利亚救国阵线（Jabhat al-Nusra）和伊斯兰阵线（Islamic Front）。