Lincoln Brigade in Syria? I would have released the pigs from barn, if this is true

"Not all foreign fighters are jihadists, either. One Libyan-Irish fighter, Mahdi al-Harati, who helped lead the battle for Tripoli, Libya, organized a group of volunteers for Syria, noted Thomas Pierret, a lecturer in contemporary Syrian Islam at the University of Edinburgh. “He is not a jihadi; he sees himself as a Libyan revolutionary there to help the Syrian revolution,” Mr. Pierret said."  Wait. This is new. So like the Lincoln Brigade, there are progressive Arab fighters among the foreign fighters?  This is the biggest joke of the day.  As for the confirmation by Mr. Pierret: Well, Pierret and I clash on an academic list regularly and I am not unfair to him if I say that he never ever finds any fault with the Free Syrian Army and I characterize his position as one of a cheerleader.  So please, Mr. MacFarquhar. Try something else in your effort to peddle the agenda of the FSA. Thanks.