O’Bagy’s Conflict of Interest

If President Obama actually launches air strikes to “change the momentum of the battlefield” in Syria, one woman may be more responsible than just about anybody else.

Her name is Elizabeth O’Bagy and her assessments of the nature and relative influence of the so-called “moderates” she claims could take over from Hafez Assad have been cited as authoritative by Secretary of State John Kerry, Senator John McCain and press outlets like the Wall Street Journal and NPR.

But O’Bagy is hardly an objective source.  Largely undisclosed is her role as a paid consultant and political director for the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which seeks arms and help for Assad’s opposition.  That is a blatant conflict of interest – and a scandal if allowed to influence whether America goes to war in Syria.