Report: US Troops Training Syrian Rebels in Jordan

Training FSA Fighters in Anti-Tank Weaponry

Der Spiegel is reporting that US troops deployed to the Jordanian border have been engaged in full-scale training operations for Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters, one of the largest rebel factions in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.

The report follows similar claims Friday from the Guardian which had French and British “personnel” involved in a US-led effort to train rebels, but provides more details, including a focus on anti-tank weaponry.

The US had previously denied plans to engage in training of the Syrian rebels, and the Pentagon has refused any comments on the Spiegel piece. The US insisted before it would only provide food and medical supplies to the rebels.

British officials denied that any troops were involved in the training, but did confirm “personnel” were in Jordan. The European Union formally bans training of Syria’s rebels except for “humanitarian purposes,” though Britain has been pushing to get that ban reversed, and has suggested that they could do virtually anything and just call it “humanitarian” later.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.