Saudi Arabia held a fundraising campaign over the past five days, raising $72.33 million said to help support the Syrian people, although it would seem most of it is going to aid the Syrian rebels.
Saudi’s King Abdullah himself donated $5.3 million of his own money. Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, who is also deputy prime minister and defence minister, donated $2.6 million.
The fundraising efforts are in addition to the money, communications gear, and weapons the Saudi government has been funneling into Syria for the opposition fighters, with the help of the CIA. They resemble similar efforts in the 1980s, proceeds of which went to the Afghan mujihadeen fighting the Soviets.
Like the Afghan mujihadeen, Syria’s rebel fighters have a large contingent of Sunni extremists, some of whom are tied to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The type of blowback from that proxy war in Afghanistan is likely to recur down the line from this Syria theater.
The Saudis are the major oil-producing state in the Middle East with the closest ties to Washington. They have vied for regional hegemony in the Middle East for decades, and they view the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which is Allawite (a Shia sect), as a threat to that hegemony. Assad’s Shiite ally Iran is also an indirect target of the regime change the Saudis and their Western counterparts are aiming for in Syria.
UN rights chief Navi Pillay last month condemned the continued flow of weapons from foreign powers to both sides in the Syrian conflict. “The ongoing provision of arms to the Syrian government and to its opponents feeds additional violence,” she said. “Any further militarization of the conflict must be avoided at all costs.”
A recent study out of Brandeis University concluded “the distillation of historical experience with civil war and insurgency, along with a sober reckoning of conditions on the ground in Syria, make clear” that arming the rebels is “likely to amplify the harm that it seeks to eliminate by prolonging a hurting stalemate.”
"Saudi Arabia held a fundraising campaign over the past five days, raising $72.33 million said to help support the Syrian people, although it would seem most of it is going to aid the Syrian rebels”.
Now look at the number again, is a joke, this is not even close to what they could have in doing business with Syrian government – Syrian people in half a day. The number alone shows that these people are not “wasting" any money on the “rebellion” helping them to “free” the country for these tyrants, the dictators and barbarians to get their hand on Syria without having invested more then $72.33 million, it shows how cheap and a low level personality these people are to give only $5.3 million of a Kings money following the crown prince with $2.6 million, these people spend more then that in a months in London, Paris, Monte Carlo, Room, Las Vegas casinos and Washington politics combined, and they want to free a country as Syria with $73. million investment.., this is nothing but a delusional minds, a thought coming out of the dark house of London and houses of those who have lied to its own people to start another mess in middle east. This shows how these tyrants can be used and abused by their masters (US and England) paving the way for yet another bigger war in middle east.
This is just what was collected officially in those 5 days. People have been collecting for the Syrian people since this began. Aside from official channels, many people give large amounts of money on a personal basis when they hear of someone collecting , and that is never recorded. So this is a small fraction of what the Saudis – government and people – have donated.
But they can't win, can they? If they send anything to support the Syrian fighters, antiwar.com people will complain that they're supporting them – but now you're complaining that they're not sending enough? Which is it?
Umbuuullllah…, the people in antiwar are against the war.., don’t you get it.., by Saudis feudalist regime and its proxies as Turkey and UAE sending money they are igniting a war which would create more wars, don’t you get get. Saudis monarch is nothing but a feudalist regime with no respect for human life, I wonder if they ever understood the terms human – humanity and respect for the mankind but their own kind.., if you know what I mean.