Officials: Congress Secretly Approves Arms for Syria Rebels

'Closed Door' Votes Fund Arms Through End of the Fiscal Year

US and European officials are reporting that US weapons flowing into Syria via Jordan are part of a program secretly approved by the US Congress in a “closed door vote.”

Officially, the US halted aid to the rebels quite some time ago after some shipments of tents to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) were seized by the Islamic Front, along with the warehouses.

That official “aid” program was going through Turkey, and a much bigger arms-based plan is going through Jordan, with funding authorized through the end of the fiscal year.

The White House offered no comment on the arms shipments, but continued with the narrative of the halted Turkish program, saying they hope to resume shipments soon but have “no announcements at this time.”

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.