Thread: Al-Qaeda in Syria Gets Anti-aircraft Missiles

Al-Qaeda in Syria Gets Anti-aircraft Missiles

Obama admin. floats P R campaign for weapons sent years ago

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
April 21, 2014

Time reported Monday officials at the White House are seriously considering sending manpads – man-portable air defense systems – to terrorist mercenary groups operating in Syria. Discussion is reportedly underway, but “strong doubts remain about the wisdom of providing missiles to the rebels.”



Syrian mercenaries use Manpad in July, 2013.
Earlier this month, we reported the United States delivered its sophisticated BGM-71 TOW anti-tank weapon to “moderate” mercenary forces in Syria.
Islamists in Syria, aka al-Qaeda and its al-Nusra affiliate, now dominate the proxy war against Bashar al-Assad. “The moderates, often underfunded, fragmented and chaotic, appear no match for Islamist units, which include fighters from organizations designated ‘terrorist’ by the United States,” Reuters reported last June.
In late March, Obama floated the idea of sending the advanced anti-aircraft system. He also reassured the Saudis, who are the primary benefactors of the mercenaries attempting to overthrow the Syrian government, the United States has not abandoned the effort to arm al-Qaeda and other fanatical Islamic groups.
“The introduction of manpads could be a game-changer in Syria, like it was in Afghanistan in the 1980s with Stinger missiles,” an Arab official told Time.
Stinger missiles would eventually be used against the United States military in Afghanistan. In 2007, the Pentagon covered up a reported surface-to-air missile strike by the Taliban that shot down a Chinook helicopter over Helmand, killing seven soldiers.
“The war logs detail at least 10 near-misses by missiles in four years against coalition aircraft, one while refueling at 11,000ft and another involving a suspected Stinger missile of the kind supplied by the CIA to Afghan rebels in the 1980s,” The Guardian reported in 2010.
The latest “discussions” and reservations on the part of the intelligence community cited by Time are nothing more than a calculated public relations campaign for a fait accompli.
On September 14, 2012, three days after ambassador Chris Stevens was murdered in Benghazi, Libya, Sheera Frenkel, a correspondent for the Times of London, reported from Antakya, Turkey that a “Libyan ship carrying the largest consignment of weapons for Syria since the uprising began has docked in Turkey and most of its cargo is making its way to rebels on the front lines.”
Frenkel reported that “more than 400 tonnes of cargo the vessel was carrying were SAM-7 surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), which Syrian sources said could be a game-changer for the rebels.”
It is now known that Stevens was working with the CIA in Benghazi to siphon weapons through Turkey to al-Qaeda and other mercenaries in Syria.
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported on April 17 that for “months there had been acute concern among senior military leaders and the intelligence community about the role in the war of Syria’s neighbors, especially Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan was known to be supporting the al-Nusra Front, a jihadist faction among the rebel opposition, as well as other Islamist rebel groups.”

This article was posted: Monday, April 21, 2014 at 11:52 am

http://www.infowars.com/al-qaeda-in-syria-gets-manpads/

Obama administration offers $27 million in additional help for Syrian rebels

Published time: May 05, 2014 20:57

Reuters / Hosam Katan

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Tags Al-Qaeda, Clashes, Conflict, Military, Politics, Security, Terrorism, USA, Violence, War

The Syrian Opposition Council’s offices in the US will become formal diplomatic missions after receiving approval from the Obama administration on Monday. This comes ahead of high-level talks between the US and opposition leaders in Washington.
The administration first recognized the Syrian Opposition Council as the legitimate representative of Syria in December 2012, but did not suspend the Syrian embassy - representing the Assad government - until this March. The opposition offices were considered informal liaison offices until Monday’s announcement, where they will become “foreign diplomatic missions” under US law, the Associated Press reports.
"This is an important step in the path toward a new Syria, its recognition on the international stage, and its relations with Syrian nationals in the US," Ahmad al-Jarba, head of the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement. “The new status provides a diplomatic platform for the Coalition to advance the interests of the Syrian people at all levels. This is a diplomatic blow against Assad's legitimacy and demonstrates how far the opposition has progressed.”
"It's a reflection of our partnership with the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
Jarba is embarking on his first official visit to Washington as the head of the SOC, CBS News reports. He will be joined by the new chief of staff of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Brigadier General Abdelilah al-Bashir, his office told AFP, but State Department officials would not confirm.

Ahmad Jarba @A_Jarba Follow Happy to announce that today, the US government has officially recognized our Syrian Coalition's Washington office as a Foreign Mission.
1:03 PM - 5 May 2014

The SOC president made the announcement of the change in status via Twitter.
The move comes as Syrian President Bashar Assad runs for reelection in June. A senior US administration official denounced the election as "a parody of democracy," AFP reports. Assad’s decision to hold the elections "rings particularly hollow given that the regime is continuing to attack and massacre the very electorate that is purporting to represent," the official said.
The formal recognition of the diplomatic missions is largely symbolic, as the two offices will not become the embassy in DC or the consulate in New York, AP reports. But the move was a key request by the Syrian opposition, who believe it will give them greater presence and credibility among Syrian expatriates in the US. It will allow the US government to assist the missions with banking and security services.
There are key differences between a foreign diplomatic mission and an embassy or consulate. People working in the missions will not be granted diplomatic immunity, nor will they be allowed access to the assets or properties that belong to the Assad regime, CBS News reports. Even with its embassies suspended, the Assad’s government is still officially recognized by the US.
During his visit, Jarba will meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the National Security Council and from the Treasury Department, according to CBS News. Al-Bashir is scheduled to meet with US officials “to discuss the supply of sophisticated weapons to the FSA to enable it to change the balance on the ground," his office told AFP.
Along with the recognition, the administration promised an additional $27 million aid to the opposition council, as well as promising to step up its non-lethal assistance to moderate commanders in the Free Syrian Army, AP reports. The additional aid will bring the total US assistance to opposition groups to $278 million, according to the Guardian.
The coalition is battling against Assad in the country’s civil war, which began with peaceful protests in March 2011. More than 150,000 people have been killed and millions more have been displaced in the three years since fighting began. Assad’s forces are backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants and pro-government militias, and have made recent battlefield gains, AP reports. In February, a second round of peace talks between the opposition, representatives of the Assad government, the US and Russia failed to reach an agreement.

http://rt.com/usa/156968-obama-admin...ls-assistance/


Comments (60)

Peter Kamau Gathiomi 06.05.2014 05:39

Democracy at work; more money to decapacitate more heads.

Meanwhile in the states; its all but every man woman and child for themselves

Syrian girl become mother of young brothers after the loss of her parents.

"America leads the world in killing innocent parents and kids - 500,000 alone just in Iraq."

Not to mention the displaced people. Not to mention the DU contamination that has led to mutations and women no longer wishing to have children.