The US and some of its European allies “are using defense contractors to train Syrian rebels on how to secure chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria,” according to “a senior US official and several senior diplomats,” CNN reports.
The US-funded training is going on inside Syria, as well as in neighboring Turkey and Jordan and “involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials,” according to CNN.
Last week, Washington began warning about the possibility that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might use his chemical weapons stockpiles against the armed rebellion trying to overthrow his regime.
But top Syrian officials vehemently denied this would ever happen, and it appeared obvious that US officials were less concerned with Assad’s unleashing the chemical weapons, and more concerned with the possibility that Islamic jihadists fighting on behalf of the Syrian opposition might get their hands on them.
Islamic extremists make up the great bulk of Syria’s rebel fighters, and this is widely acknowledged by official Washington. Indeed, the State Department recently designated Jabhat al-Nusra, one of the most prominent Syrian rebel factions, as a Global Terrorist organization.
The US decision to hire unaccountable defense contractors to train Syrian rebels to handle stockpiles of chemical weapons seems dangerously irresponsible in the extreme, especially considering how inept Washington has so far been at making sure only trustworthy, secular rebels – to the extent they exist – receive their aid and the weapons that allies in the Gulf Arab states have been providing.
It also feeds accusations that the Syrian Foreign Ministry recently made that the US is working to frame the Syrian regime as having used or prepared for chemical warfare.
“The U.S. administration has consistently worked over the past year to launch a campaign of allegations on the possibility that Syria could use chemical weapons during the current crisis,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry wrote in letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“What raises concerns about this news circulated by the media is our serious fear that some of the countries backing terrorism and terrorists might provide the armed terrorist groups with chemical weapons and claim that it was the Syrian government that used the weapons,” the letters said.
hahahaha! ha!
privateers. proxy war. secure chemical weapons expo in an Ottoman near you! secure! you mean like securing weapons in Libya? haha ronnie raygun ain't a thing on obomber.
Obama is like the British Empire of old. While Romney was no better, during their last debate Obama showed the same kind of sense superiority and crass behavior like the Brits who think they are intellectually and technologically superior. It's a form of racism. Disregard native intelligence, force your agenda, justify it because you think you're smarter and superior. politics not logic., and in the middle of the night, your installations are run over. people say Obama is "light footed". that's bs he's operates subterfuge warfare. but when he will continue to lose in the levant, it's not light-footed . it's flat-footed. he checkmated himself a year ago. what a jackass. now he forces the game for a Dec attack when everybody is worried about the "cliff"…he thinks Assad will fall as quickly as Noriega.
chem weapons will be the least of their problems. wait until US boys are flanked by Islamics in Libya, Mali, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. Hamas deal-o won't save your butt.
This will work out about as well as training Islamic extremists to provide security for US embassies. Just ask yesterday's news Chris Stevens.
'Reports' by "activists", with 'video' "confirmation", are coming out that Assad is already using "Chemical Weapons"…
http://www.albawaba.com/news/syria-chemical-weapo…
Now what?
This bubbling "chemical weapon" was just an underground waterpipe hit and dammaged. There is no chemical acting like an broken waterpipe unde pressure and under the sand.
Its not the first time the phantasies bring up such poor stories as wanted by NATO-Terrorists or carrier making journalists of war mongering media.
Trained to "handle" as in "use"?
Glaser risks extending Obama's talking points -so, Obama's PR meme is now credible? are they really interested in tracking as they say? CNN is essentially a PR firm for WH. Now the US admits to operating inside Syria. But-using private mercenaries., aka retired SF. This is nothing new. But to believe simply because Obama designated a group as terrorist is equatable to the US not working with said group is –well. an exercise in disbelief.
think contra-rebels. think iran contra. start each sentence with, everything Obama says about Syria is a lie. then you'll be closer to the truth than quoting CNN. plausible denial. obama's got it in spades.
It seems like these wars never end. I used to get angry about every conflict since Vietnam and I hoped this would subside, but since Bush we have been at war in the Middle East for over ten years. I finally started a petition to stop war. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-wa…
To tell the world that their lie is true, they teach it to terrorists to start with. This is yet another propaganda sticking it to the people letting them know that they are doing something over here for the people here to be safe,,,….yahhhh right.., how about stoping your support for terrorism.., that would teach am a lesson.
Hmm. "U.S. funded training". What about the "fiscal cliff"?
Is there only and permanent fraud news here?
"to secure chemical weapons stockpiles" ?
These not knowingly US proxy fighters want and said to "not stop their Jihad till the Al Qaida/Al CIAda flag is rised at the WHITEHOUSE. They will be happy to "secure" chemical weapons for their urban warfare in New York and Washington.
Today obviously they are testing even self-made chemical weapons: http://www.syria-tribune.com/e/index.php/by-syria-tribun...
To understand this Orwellian manipulations I suggest watching https://08oo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/key-reasons…