A journalist's firsthand account from rebel-held Syria shows how Jabhat al-Nusra operated — bad news for anyone hoping the group was ever moderate.

• A Nusra member and English-speaking student, Muhammad Kinatri, acted as the fixer who promised safe passage to report on the bombings and the war.
• In a face-covered interview he said plainly that the group wanted an Islamic state in Syria run by Sharia law, including beheadings, amputations, and executions for apostasy and adultery.
• A day later the same group kidnapped the journalist, claiming they had information he was a CIA spy and only needed to "investigate."
• Other kidnapped reporters had heard the identical spy story, which made clear the promise of release was a formality.

Outlook: Al-Qaeda's old Syrian branch is now the core of the country's new leadership, so its original aims matter more than ever.