Now that the Obama Administration has decided to start providing US arms to the Syrian rebels, the logistics are already worked out. They’ve been funneling arms from other nations to the rebels for over a year now. The big change will just be where the arms came from.
That and the vetting process: the US mostly looked the other way as arms from the GCC nations and others got shared around the Syrian rebel factions, starting with more palatable groups and ending up with everyone else, including the al-Qaeda allied Jabhat al-Nusra.
Having US arms show up in the hands of al-Qaeda fighters is an embarrassment the administration would prefer to avoid, and that’s going to mean creating some much more stringent vetting strategies.
That’s going to complicate things, with large swathes of the rebellion at least nominally al-Qaeda-linked. The decision to arm the rebels was primarily about keeping the civil war going in the face of recent gains by government forces, and that means providing aid to a trivially small faction in the rebellion that can realistically be “trusted” will run counter to that, meaning there is going to be intense debate on the standards to be used.
Even when they settle on this, the problem of organization is going to be huge. The US has been struggling with pledged cash transfers to the rebels because they are so disorganized, and can’t tell who the “leadership” realistically is. Those problems aren’t going to go away with the introduction of US arms, and in many ways that may complicate the matter, as different factions try to create the illusion of being in charge in the hopes of securing advanced US armaments.
No it well not make them more organized but it well give them more opportunity terrorizing people.
Not one who tends to support the actions of the Israeli government, I still wonder how they are going to feel about their lapdog supplying heavy weapons – including anti-aircraft weaponry I suppose – to those who would think it really cool to bring down an Israeli passenger plane or 2. Seeing as the "rebels" fighting the Assad regime are laced throughout with derivatives and supporters of al-Qaeda, without guarantees that these weapons will be used only for the US's intended uses. As for vetting…take a close look at the FUBAR mess in Afghanistan and the Afghan Army who regularly turn their US-supplied weapons on the ISAF there "training" them.
This intervention is going to turn out bad…bad. According to the latest NBC/WSJ poll the American people are overwhelmingly against getting involved – period. It's not our problem. Fools.
Empire logic is very simple in this regard, killing machines shall go to the terrorist with a track record for killing the most babies and pregnant women.
Empire goal being to maximize terror, its simple, you just close your eyes and squeeze the trigger.
This is rich!
Obama is going to visit my home country Germany next week. But german newspapers and online-magazines profess themselves to keep a a total blackout of critical comments regarding Obama's policies at home and abroad, already.
I am a regular contributor in many policy-forums in Germany. But actually, I feel completely silenced. None of my comments, which state nothing but the facts in a polite manner, gets published anywhere, whatsoever.
It looks like the long arm of the NSA is reaching over the pond all the way to Europe, already.
Get out of the middle east america you are finished there and afganistan you destroy whatever you destroy whatever you come into.
"Now that the Obama Administration has decided to start providing US arms to the Syrian rebels" means that the CIA has not been arming them under the direction of Obama Admin. Come on, get a life. Who do you work for? "Having US arms show up in the hands of al-Qaeda fighters is an embarrassment the administration would prefer to avoid, and that’s going to mean creating some much more stringent vetting strategies." Do you believe in Santa Claus too? Did the tooth fairy come last night?