Sen. Levin: ISIS Offensive Will Increase US Aid to Syria Rebels

Says US Taking More 'Forward-Leaning' Position in Syria

One would have thought that US would be rethinking aid to rebels in Syria after the latest rebel faction, ISIS, seized large portions of Iraq. That’s not the case, according to Armed Services Committee Chair Sen. Carl Levin (D – MI).

Instead Levin, who advocates escalation of US aid to the rebels, says he believes Iraq has the administration taking a more “forward-leaning position in Syria,” and increasing its aid to rebel factions there.

He argued that the US was trying to blunt ISIS influence by arming other rebel factions, though none of the other rebel factions seem to be able to seriously contest ISIS control of the country’s east.

If anything, the US throwing arms at the other rebel factions seems likely to get ISIS access to even more American weapons than they’ve already looted from Iraq, since they control many of the border crossings and can demand a cut of the arms for letting them through.

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.