In a statement to CNN, Petraeus said some members of the Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front might be persuaded to join the coalition battling the ISIS group.
"We should under no circumstances try to use or co-opt Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, as an organization against ISIL," Petraeus told CNN, using another acronym for the ISIS group.
"But some individual fighters, and perhaps some elements, within Nusra today have undoubtedly joined for opportunistic rather than ideological reasons: they saw Nusra as a strong horse, and they haven't seen a credible alternative, as the moderate opposition has yet to be adequately resourced."
So, Petraeus argued, it may eventually be possible to "peel off so-called 'reconcilables' who would be willing to renounce Nusra and align with the moderate opposition to fight against Nusra, ISIL, and (Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
.)"