British PM: Syrian Civil War Stalemated

Too Much Extremism in Rebels to Send Arms

British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed his decision not to arm Syria’s rebels today, saying there is “too much extremism” among the rebel leadership to risk sending arms there.

Cameron went on to describe the civil war as “stalemated,” urging an international solution to end the fighting and resolve the conflict, while lamenting what he called a “depressing” situation in Syria.

Cameron condemned Assad as an “evil man” but warned that the rebels were also committing atrocities and that Britain should have nothing to do with the bulk of them.

The shift is significant because Cameron loudly applauded the rebels in previous months and led the charge to arm them, eventually forcing the EU to drop an arms embargo that covered both sides of the war. In the end, the argument against arming al-Qaeda-linked rebels proved too persuasive, and convinced Cameron that it’s a war best avoided.

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.