Posted on 03/25/2013 5:08:46 PM PDT by haffast
WASHINGTON -- The United States is training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan in a bid to bolster forces battling President Bashar Assad's regime and stem the influence of Islamist radicals among the country's persistently splintered opposition, American and foreign officials said.
The training has been conducted for several months now in an unspecified location, concentrating largely on Sunnis and tribal Bedouins who formerly served as members of the Syrian army, officials told The Associated Press. The forces aren't members of the leading rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, which Washington and others fear may be increasingly coming under the sway of extremist militia groups, including some linked to al-Qaida, they said.
The operation is being run by U.S. intelligence and is ongoing, officials said, but those in Washington stressed that the U.S. is providing only nonlethal aid at this point. Others such as Britain and France are involved, they said, though it's unclear whether any Western governments are providing materiel or other direct military support after two years of civil war that according to the United Nations already has killed more than 70,000 people.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the program.
Officially, the Obama administration has been vague on the subject of what type of military training it may be providing, while insisting that it is doing all it can - short of providing weapons to the rebels or engaging in its own military intervention - to hasten the demise of the Assad family's four-decade dictatorship.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Training Syrian Rebels to Conquer Golan Heights and Shoot Down Israeli Aircraft
American Thinker ^ | 3/13/13 | Shoshana Bryen
Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 3:44:10 PM by Nachum
"Israel expects to see any and all weapons, including some of the estimated 15,000 surface-to-air missiles the U.S. admits "disappeared" from Libya, aimed in its direction."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996511/posts
White House rebuffed Clinton-Petraeus plan to arm Syrian rebels
Reuters ^ | Sat, Feb 2, 2013 | Eric Beech
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A plan developed last summer by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-CIA Director David Petraeus to arm and train Syrian rebels was rebuffed by the White House, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
The United States has sent humanitarian aid to Syria but has declined requests for weapons by rebels fighting to overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The White House rejected the Clinton-Petraeus proposal over concerns it could draw the United States into the Syrian conflict and the arms could fall into the wrong hands, the Times said, citing unnamed Obama administration officials.
The plan called for vetting rebels and arming a group of fighters with the assistance of some neighboring countries.
Some administration officials expected the issue to come up again after the November U.S. elections, but the plan apparently died after Petraeus resigned because of an extramarital affair and Clinton missed weeks of work with health issues, the Times said.
Clinton, who stepped down as secretary of state on Friday, declined in a recent interview with the Times to comment on her role in the debate over arming the rebels.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2985334/posts
Secular, my but.
It’s always a good idea to train people you will probably have to fight sooner or later.
This is Obama’s war. One he can hardly blame on George Bush. His war to place the Muslim brotherhood in charge of the Middle east.
Syrian rebel forces have seized a 25-kilometer (15 mile) buffer zone stretching from the Jordanian border to the Golan Heights.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog agency, “Fighters loyal to Al Nusra Front, Al Yarmuk Brigade, Al Mutaz Billah Brigade and others took control of Al Rai military checkpoint” east of Sahem al-Golan, in the Dara'a province.
snip
The rebel forces referred to in the statement are part of the radical jihadist group known as the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Syria, which despises what it considers the rival Western-backed Syrian National Council, the larger opposition force.
The rebels on Saturday also seized a key air base in Dara'a after two weeks of fierce battles with troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Observatory.
On Sunday, Israel warned Syria the IDF would retaliate by destroying the source of any gunfire directed across its northern border, regardless of who fired. The warning came after two separate attacks within a 12 hour period aimed at IDF military vehicles, both of which hit and damaged the jeeps but did not injure any Israeli soldiers.
"Stem" is the wrong word. Obama's intention is to HELP the Islamist radicals, just as he did in Libya and Egypt and everywhere else that he has gotten involved. And Hillary the Muslim lover was always eager to help.
"At the same time, the U.S. is sharing only “limited” information because the CIA doesn’t know whether it can fully trust the rebels, including withholding where American and Israeli intelligence believe the Syrian government keeps its chemical weapons, according to the Journal."
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/23/report-cia-feeding-intelligence-to-syrian-rebel-fighters/
Is that code for: after months of training, they still can't hit what they're shooting at?
I too believe that is the plan.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Third Presidential Debate 2012: Obama and Romney on Syria and Assad - 5 min video candidates state positions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBj2FHqCOHY
Thank YOU for VERY IMPORTANT WORK, halfast...and for starting the thread/discussion. BUMP-TO-THE-TRUTH!
Interesting that twitter tracker line under the Obama Romney debate. Thanks for your valuable links, halfast.
BUMP-TO-THE-TRUTH!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.