White House Pledges More Aid to Syrian Rebels

Denies Reports of Armored Vehicles 'For Now'

Officials are confirming, on condition of anonymity, that the White House has already pledged additional aid to the Syrian rebels, and that this aid will primarily include food and medical supplies.

Secretary of State John Kerry has been hinting at plans to increase US aid to Syrian rebel factions, but officials insist that reports from last night that this would include armored personnel carriers are not true “for now.”

The specifics of aid packages are expected to be unveiled on Thursday during the Rome conference with various Syrian rebel groups, part of the “Friends of Syria” series of US-backed conferences aimed at getting Western nations to endorse regime change.

The rebels have been pressing for more weaponry and both the US and European Union seem keen to get more directly involved in the rebellion, but it seems that there is still reluctance to put an official US rubber stamp on armament, with them preferring to quietly funnel weapons from Gulf nations instead.

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.