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Syria conflict 'incubator of extremism,' Burns tells Senators

During a hearing Deputy Secretary of State William Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Syrian Civil War is engendering extremism and attracting foreign fighters who may later carry out "external attacks."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns arrives at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva January 11, 2013. The Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and United States Deputy Secretary of State William Burns. The meeting is aimed at furthering their discussions to arrive at a political solution to the crisis in Syria.  REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3CBBS

The Syrian civil war has become an “incubator of extremism” and a "magnet" for foreign fighters, and poses growing risks to US interests and allies, US officials told frustrated lawmakers Thursday. The three year old conflict is also likely to go on for a long time, they assessed, as it pulls in foreign fighters from both sides of the Sunni-Shia sectarian divide, and both Bashar al-Assad and his opponents believe they can win.

“The hard reality is that the grinding Syrian civil war is now an incubator of extremism, on both sides of the sectarian divide.” Deputy Secretary of State William Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday, at a hearing on the Syrian civil war that led off with the deepening US-Russian rift over Ukraine.

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