The U.S. will provide direct military aid to the Syrian opposition after confirming that Bashar al-Assad’s regime used chemical weapons in the country’s civil war and amid recent battlefield setbacks by rebel groups.
Two European officials said they expect the assistance to include arming the opposition, probably through Jordan. U.S. President Barack Obama’s aides refused to say whether the decision announced yesterday extends to lethal assistance.
The White House calculus has shifted as support for the Assad regime from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah has reversed some opposition gains. Pro-regime forces drove rebels from the city of al-Qusair, near the Lebanese border, and moved north in preparation to attack rebels in and around Homs and Aleppo, the nation’s commercial center.
“It’s particularly urgent right now in terms of the situation on the ground, in some respect, because we have seen Hezbollah and Iran increase their own involvement in the conflict,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser. “That has added an element of urgency.”
The Syrian civil war will a main topic next week when Obama and other world leaders gather for the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Obama will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the U.S. has been pressing to end support for Assad. He also may seek a unified plan for aiding the rebels with European allies. The G-8 is composed of leaders from the U.S., France, U.K., Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.
The European officials asked not to be identified because no announcement on arming the rebels has been made. Another diplomat familiar with the discussions cautioned that the White House’s language suggests the president hasn’t yet decided how to proceed in terms of lethal aid.
[h=2]Chemical Weapons[/h]Rhodes said Assad’s forces had used the nerve gas sarin on a “small scale” several times against the opposition, causing 100 to 150 deaths.
Obama has made a decision that the U.S. will provide assistance to rebels that has “direct military purposes” on the ground for the Supreme Military Council, the main civilian opposition’s military arm, Rhodes said.
“We’re just not going to be able to lay out an inventory of what exactly falls under the scope of that assistance,” Rhodes told reporters on a conference call yesterday. It would be “responsive to the needs of the Syrian opposition.”
The administration has “not made any decision to pursue” establishing a no-fly zone over Syria, Rhodes said.
[h=2]‘Underwhelming Response’[/h]Andrew Tabler, a Middle East analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the White House announcement, because of its vagueness, is “an underwhelming response unless there’s something more to it.”
White House silence on the question of arming the rebels may reflect covert aspects or a multilateral plan that is not ready to be announced, he said.
“I just think frankly we’re going to be looking at which rebels to arm, that we’re approaching the Rubicon, but we haven’t crossed it,” Tabler said.
The Obama administration has been considering “all options, barring boots on the ground,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing yesterday.
Those options include sending weapons, providing intelligence support such as information on regime troop movements from satellite imagery, military training for rebels, and U.S. military actions such as establishing a no-fly zone over all or part of Syria to restrict Assad’s use of his warplanes and helicopters.
[h=2]Rebel Appeal[/h]The latter would be both costly and complicated since it may require destroying some Syrian air defenses and would require setting up a search-and-rescue capability in the event a U.S. warplane is shot down.
The head of the rebel force’s Supreme Military Command, Major General Salim Idris, has appealed to the U.S. and other nations for weapons, from ammunition to anti-aircraft missiles, to fend off advances by the regime and its allies, including Lebanese militia fighters from Hezbollah, a group that the U.S. and Israel consider a terrorist organization.
Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican who has led calls in Congress for the U.S. to arm the Syrian rebels, said on the Senate floor yesterday that Obama had decided to send weapons only to back away from that assertion in later comments.
“It’s my understanding that the president has not made the final decision on arming but he has made the decision that chemical weapons have been used,” McCain said. “I think it’s obvious that they will be providing weapons. They need a no-fly zone.”
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times, citing unnamed officials briefed on the matter, reported that Obama had authorized the provision of arms to the rebels.
[h=2]‘Safe Zone’[/h]Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has pressed to arm Syrian rebels and use U.S. firepower to create a “safe zone,” said the administration’s announcement paves the way for the U.S. to arm rebels. Still, he said, “I don’t have any specific indication they’re ready to take a step in arming in a robust way.”
From Rhodes’s comments alone, “I don’t think it’s at all clear” how far Obama is prepared to go, Casey said, urging the president to give lawmakers more detail.
Casey, who spoke with Idris by phone a day earlier, said of the opposition leader, “He was very clear: Machine guns and RPGs can’t complete with air power. He asked specifically in addition to conventional arms for anti-tank weapons that could deal with the Russian tanks and also anti-aircraft weapons.”
[h=2]Red Line[/h]Obama repeatedly has said the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s regime cross a “red line” for the U.S. The administration has refrained from sending arms, in part because of concern that the weapons would make their way into the hands of Islamic radicals within the opposition.
The U.S. previously said it would provide humanitarian supplies to the Syrians and provide non-lethal equipment such as vehicles, communications gear and night-vision goggles.
Last week, Assad’s regime captured the strategically located city of al-Qusair, giving government forces control of the road that leads from Damascus to Lebanon. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in the U.K., said Syrian forces have shifted their focus to the city of Homs, a rebel stronghold 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of al-Qusair.
In a move to increase support for the rebels, the U.S. on June 12 waived restrictions on some exports to opposition-held areas of Syria to help people there survive and rebuild.
The waiver let U.S. companies avoid sanctions for the export of commodities, software and equipment to opposition-held territories in farming, food processing, power generation, oil and gas production, construction, engineering and transportation.
[h=2]Other Countries[/h]Other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been supplying weapons to the rebels and the U.S. recently began an effort to channel non-lethal U.S. military aid through Idris, in an effort to avoid having supplies get into the hands of extremists.
At the same time, the administration has pushed a plan to open negotiations between rebels and the regime about a negotiated political transition that would have Assad step down.
The public confirmation of the chemical weapons came a day after top U.S. national security officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met at the White House to discuss options for Syria, according to a U.S. official.
To contact the reporters on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at [email protected]; Terry Atlas in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at [email protected]; John Walcott at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]U.S. Backs Syrian Rebel Military Aid as Chemical Use Confirmed[/h]
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
Syrian rebel fighters belonging to the "Martyrs of Maaret al-Numan" battalion leave their position after a range of shootings in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in front of the army base of Wadi Deif on June 13, 2013.
Syrian rebel fighters belonging to the "Martyrs of Maaret al-Numan" battalion leave their position after a range of shootings in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in front of the army base of Wadi Deif on June 13, 2013. Photographer: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
Two European officials said they expect the assistance to include arming the opposition, probably through Jordan. U.S. President Barack Obama’s aides refused to say whether the decision announced yesterday extends to lethal assistance.
The White House calculus has shifted as support for the Assad regime from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah has reversed some opposition gains. Pro-regime forces drove rebels from the city of al-Qusair, near the Lebanese border, and moved north in preparation to attack rebels in and around Homs and Aleppo, the nation’s commercial center.
“It’s particularly urgent right now in terms of the situation on the ground, in some respect, because we have seen Hezbollah and Iran increase their own involvement in the conflict,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser. “That has added an element of urgency.”
The Syrian civil war will a main topic next week when Obama and other world leaders gather for the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Obama will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the U.S. has been pressing to end support for Assad. He also may seek a unified plan for aiding the rebels with European allies. The G-8 is composed of leaders from the U.S., France, U.K., Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.
The European officials asked not to be identified because no announcement on arming the rebels has been made. Another diplomat familiar with the discussions cautioned that the White House’s language suggests the president hasn’t yet decided how to proceed in terms of lethal aid.
[h=2]Chemical Weapons[/h]Rhodes said Assad’s forces had used the nerve gas sarin on a “small scale” several times against the opposition, causing 100 to 150 deaths.
Obama has made a decision that the U.S. will provide assistance to rebels that has “direct military purposes” on the ground for the Supreme Military Council, the main civilian opposition’s military arm, Rhodes said.
“We’re just not going to be able to lay out an inventory of what exactly falls under the scope of that assistance,” Rhodes told reporters on a conference call yesterday. It would be “responsive to the needs of the Syrian opposition.”
The administration has “not made any decision to pursue” establishing a no-fly zone over Syria, Rhodes said.
[h=2]‘Underwhelming Response’[/h]Andrew Tabler, a Middle East analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the White House announcement, because of its vagueness, is “an underwhelming response unless there’s something more to it.”
White House silence on the question of arming the rebels may reflect covert aspects or a multilateral plan that is not ready to be announced, he said.
“I just think frankly we’re going to be looking at which rebels to arm, that we’re approaching the Rubicon, but we haven’t crossed it,” Tabler said.
The Obama administration has been considering “all options, barring boots on the ground,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing yesterday.
Those options include sending weapons, providing intelligence support such as information on regime troop movements from satellite imagery, military training for rebels, and U.S. military actions such as establishing a no-fly zone over all or part of Syria to restrict Assad’s use of his warplanes and helicopters.
[h=2]Rebel Appeal[/h]The latter would be both costly and complicated since it may require destroying some Syrian air defenses and would require setting up a search-and-rescue capability in the event a U.S. warplane is shot down.
The head of the rebel force’s Supreme Military Command, Major General Salim Idris, has appealed to the U.S. and other nations for weapons, from ammunition to anti-aircraft missiles, to fend off advances by the regime and its allies, including Lebanese militia fighters from Hezbollah, a group that the U.S. and Israel consider a terrorist organization.
Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican who has led calls in Congress for the U.S. to arm the Syrian rebels, said on the Senate floor yesterday that Obama had decided to send weapons only to back away from that assertion in later comments.
“It’s my understanding that the president has not made the final decision on arming but he has made the decision that chemical weapons have been used,” McCain said. “I think it’s obvious that they will be providing weapons. They need a no-fly zone.”
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times, citing unnamed officials briefed on the matter, reported that Obama had authorized the provision of arms to the rebels.
[h=2]‘Safe Zone’[/h]Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has pressed to arm Syrian rebels and use U.S. firepower to create a “safe zone,” said the administration’s announcement paves the way for the U.S. to arm rebels. Still, he said, “I don’t have any specific indication they’re ready to take a step in arming in a robust way.”
From Rhodes’s comments alone, “I don’t think it’s at all clear” how far Obama is prepared to go, Casey said, urging the president to give lawmakers more detail.
Casey, who spoke with Idris by phone a day earlier, said of the opposition leader, “He was very clear: Machine guns and RPGs can’t complete with air power. He asked specifically in addition to conventional arms for anti-tank weapons that could deal with the Russian tanks and also anti-aircraft weapons.”
[h=2]Red Line[/h]Obama repeatedly has said the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s regime cross a “red line” for the U.S. The administration has refrained from sending arms, in part because of concern that the weapons would make their way into the hands of Islamic radicals within the opposition.
The U.S. previously said it would provide humanitarian supplies to the Syrians and provide non-lethal equipment such as vehicles, communications gear and night-vision goggles.
Last week, Assad’s regime captured the strategically located city of al-Qusair, giving government forces control of the road that leads from Damascus to Lebanon. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in the U.K., said Syrian forces have shifted their focus to the city of Homs, a rebel stronghold 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of al-Qusair.
In a move to increase support for the rebels, the U.S. on June 12 waived restrictions on some exports to opposition-held areas of Syria to help people there survive and rebuild.
The waiver let U.S. companies avoid sanctions for the export of commodities, software and equipment to opposition-held territories in farming, food processing, power generation, oil and gas production, construction, engineering and transportation.
[h=2]Other Countries[/h]Other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been supplying weapons to the rebels and the U.S. recently began an effort to channel non-lethal U.S. military aid through Idris, in an effort to avoid having supplies get into the hands of extremists.
At the same time, the administration has pushed a plan to open negotiations between rebels and the regime about a negotiated political transition that would have Assad step down.
The public confirmation of the chemical weapons came a day after top U.S. national security officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met at the White House to discuss options for Syria, according to a U.S. official.
To contact the reporters on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at [email protected]; Terry Atlas in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at [email protected]; John Walcott at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]U.S. Backs Syrian Rebel Military Aid as Chemical Use Confirmed[/h]
Syrian rebel fighters belonging to the "Martyrs of Maaret al-Numan" battalion leave their position after a range of shootings in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in front of the army base of Wadi Deif on June 13, 2013.
Syrian rebel fighters belonging to the "Martyrs of Maaret al-Numan" battalion leave their position after a range of shootings in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in front of the army base of Wadi Deif on June 13, 2013. Photographer: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images