"We are now observing how actors who exploit al-Qaeda for their political goals & allow them to operate freely suffer greatly in the end"

"...One doesn’t need expert intelligence to grasp the abnormality of the earlier situation. It was enough to have minimal knowledge of current issues and decent judgment to look at a map of Syria and understand that Al-Nusra and other jihadist organizations alongside the Free Syrian Army had total freedom of movement in Syria’s border area with Turkey. Turkey did not need to train or arm the jihadists. But it would have impossible for these militant groups to achieve such superiority against regime forces in the region that includes Aleppo without logistical support from sources in Turkey and unhindered access to the border.The first suggestions of Ankara’s changing relations with Al-Nusra followed the domination by the Kurdistan Workers Party’s Syrian extension, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), of the Kurdish-populated Syrian towns of Afrin, Kobani, Amude and Derik, which were abandoned by regime forces and the state. Ankara, perceiving a major threat from an experiment in autonomy by Syrian Kurds under the leadership of the PYD, was accused of exploiting the jihadists to foil this Kurdish move. At that time, Al-Nusra had not yet declared, "We are al-Qaeda."
The border town that witnessed the bloodiest battles between Al-Nusra and the PYD was mixed Arab-Kurd Ras al-Ain, or Serekaniye, as the Kurds call it. There were claims that Ras al-Ain’s Turkish neighbor Ceylanpinar was serving as a logistical base for Al-Nusra....
Although the PYD expelled Al-Nusra from strategically important Ras al-Ain last July, these two groups are still fighting in the area. Meanwhile, talks were rife in informed quarters that the United States was becoming disturbed by Ankara’s support for jihadists led by Al-Nusra, at least by allowing them to use Turkish territory. Finally, last April, Al-Nusra declared its affiliation with al-Qaeda and its ideology. This development compelled Ankara to adopt clear positions....
The United States put Al-Nusra on its list of terror organizations, while Turkey sees it as "a group with extremist tendencies." At one time, Ankara had noted that unless the Syrian crisis is solved in a short time, the radical groups are likely to be strengthened. As anticipated, radicals did become stronger. .....
At the end, it all depends on ending the Syrian civil war with a political solution soon. Otherwise, Al-Nusra will continue to grow and be the enemy of all minorities, enflaming the sectarian war in Syria.
We are now observing in the Syrian context how actors who think they are exploiting al-Qaeda for their political goals and allow them to operate freely suffer greatly in the end...."