The Obama Administration’s plans to provide arms and other equipment to secular Syrian rebels took a lot of planning, but finally began in earnest in recent days, as massive amounts of goods bound for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) started crossing the border from Reyhanli, Turkey into a warehouse in Atmeh, in northern Syria.
The plan was controversial, with a lot of fear that the goods would eventually start falling into the hands of al-Qaeda and other Islamist factions, and that seems to have been putting it mildly, as the whole warehouse in Atmeh was almost immediately captured by al-Qaeda.
Thousands of US made tents and other equipment meant for the FSA never ended up in the hands of those rebel fighters, and instead is all under the control of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). To make matters worse, the FSA commanders who were overseeing the transfer at the warehouse were all captured by AQI and are now awaiting trial in AQI-run religious courts.
US officials are now reportedly looking to revamp their supply methods yet again, but this misses the point that once the goods cross into Syria, such problems are inevitable.
This is exactly why the major border crossings into pro-rebel Turkey are so hotly contested by rebel factions, as controlling a crossing allows a faction to demand a cut from everything entering through that territory, and in the cases of US supplies, where “sharing” is considered out of bounds, there is little to stop AQI or whoever else from seizing the equipment outright.
'seize?' There's a level of 'incompetence' that tends to suggest something …. er … else. …ever goosed someone and said 'whoopsie?'
E.g., whoops, I assassinated your partner in peace talks just as they were to begin. Whoops, I supplied AQ ostensibly by shipping to FSA. Whoops, look where Ghaddafi's military equipment went. Whoops, the head witch also 'confessed' to whacking the Pope and plotting against something that didn't exist at the time of his capture… Whoops, I 'supported' a foreign rebellion that was in important ways dominated by the franchise. …
Next time mom shoos me away from the cookie jar, I need to think really hard about the kind of cookie-raid that could 'plausibly' begin with 'whoops.' …if I say they fell on the floor, I might then 'plausibly' claim I threw them out …if I ever actually took out the trash. Oh, well. Better luck next time.
"…US officials are now reportedly looking to revamp their supply methods…"
Is this not the definition of insanity…repeating an act and expecting a different outcome?
Gee, who would have thought? Everybody but the ivy league-educated parasites in the US government. What's the punishment again for providing material support to terrorists?
Only applied to "Ordinary Americans."
US history suggests they ARE intentionally funding al qaeda, but simply doing it in a way that allows them to say they aren't doing it on purpose.
and why wouldn't they? they have on numerous occasions. they helped start al qaeda. the USA funds anyone. they don't care what the people do, as long as they also fulfill US objectives.
"…as long as they also fulfill US objectives," which are: 1) profits for arms manufacturers and military contractors, 2) career advancement for suits and starts, 3) sensational news stories, opportunities to report from the battlefield and potential Pulitzers for journalists and 4) Congressional pork and campaign contributions.