Despite announcing new rounds of rebel aid every week or two, the US State Department hasn’t actually delivered the bulk of it to Syria’s rebel forces, and is withholding the $63 million pledged to the Syrian National Coalition (SNC).
US officials are citing the increasing “disarray” in the rebel leadership, particularly in the SNC, which saw its president resign in March and has been unable to settle on a new leader since.
Officials say this wasn’t “the plan” but that they are now looking for “more credible partners” for backing the rebel side in the Syrian Civil War, and imposing regime change in the nation.
At the core of this growing frustration is the US effort to put together some sort of peace conference in Geneva, apparently aiming to show Assad’s unwillingness to negotiate. Instead, Assad has agreed to join the talks, and the rebels have refused, forcing the US to back off the pretense of trying to reach a settlement and publicly concede that their priority is to impose regime change however they can get it.
