The Obama administration's next step in aid to Syrian rebels is expected to be a broader package of nonlethal assistance, including body armor and night-vision goggles, as the U.S. grapples for ways to stem the bloodshed from Syria's civil war.| I think I see the problem right there. Why are we 'grappling' with this now? Perhaps at the very beginning it was useful to consider this rebels versus Pencilneck, and it was desirable for us to be on the side of the rebels. But Pencilneck includes Iran, and the rebels include al-Qaeda and the Salafists. Why not just sit back and (as bloodthirsty as this sounds) let them have at it? Perhaps we could let the Druze run the place when the two sides are done killing each other. |
"Those efforts have been very much front and center in our discussions in the last week in Washington," Kerry said Tuesday, a day before meeting with Syrian opposition leaders in London. "I'm not sure what the schedule is, but I do believe that it's important for us to try to continue to put the pressure on President Assad and to try to change his calculation."
The United Nations estimates more than 70,000 people have been killed during more than two years of fighting between rebels and government forces.
| Get the innocents out of the way and let the combatants go red on red. If we were going to do anything we'd help Jordan, Turkey and Iraq with the refugee camps (make sure those are disarmed) and put a big fence around the border. |
Earlier this year, the U.S. announced a $60 million nonlethal assistance package for Syria that includes meals and medical supplies for the armed opposition. The aid package marked the first direct American assistance to the opposition forces trying to overthrow Assad.
But thus far, the U.S. has resisted providing lethal weapons to the rebels, in part out of fear that the arms could fall into the hands of jihadi groups that are designated as terrorist fronts linked to al-Qaida. However, the U.S. has said it would not stand in the way of other nations that decide to arm the rebels.