Washington Post: CIA Has Begun Developing Weapons To Syrian Rebels

[Moneyman]

Breaking News: Washington Post reporting CIA has begun delivering weapons to Syrian rebels. Details on #AC360Later 10pm


Via Anderson Cooper on Twitter.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Breaking News: Washington Post reporting CIA has begun delivering weapons to Syrian rebels. Details on #AC360Later 10pm


Via Anderson Cooper on Twitter.

Are they using those US weapons right now against the Christians of Maaloula in the attack they are presently waging there?

 

[Annie]

and likely came in through Benghazi, though that's 'in our heads...'

My mistake, the very lethal weapons came through Benghazi, these are 'accounted for.'

 

[The2ndAmendment]

Those same weapons that Ambassador Stevens refused to give to them, which caused him to be left for dead.

 

[Annie]

CIA begins weapons delivery to Syrian rebels - The Washington Post

U.S. weapons reaching Syrian rebels

By Ernesto Londoño and Greg Miller, E-mail the writers

The CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures. The shipments began streaming into the country over the past two weeks, along with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear — a flow of material that marks a major escalation of the U.S. role in Syria’s civil war.

The arms shipments, which are limited to light weapons and other munitions that can be tracked, began arriving in Syria at a moment of heightened tensions over threats by President Obama to order missile strikes to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons in a deadly attack near Damascus last month.

The arms are being delivered as the United States is also shipping new types of nonlethal gear to rebels. That aid includes vehicles, sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits.

U.S. officials hope that, taken together, the weapons and gear will boost the profile and prowess of rebel fighters in a conflict that started about 21 / 2 years ago.

Although the Obama administration signaled months ago that it would increase aid to Syrian rebels, the efforts have lagged because of the logistical challenges involved in delivering equipment in a war zone and officials’ fears that any assistance could wind up in the hands of jihadists. Secretary of State John F. Kerry had promised in April that the nonlethal aid would start flowing “in a matter of weeks.”

...

 

[Moonglow]

Then on Sunday, activists said government soldiers and pro-government militiamen had been forced to pull back to the outskirts following a fresh rebel assault.

Since then, most of the town's 3,300 residents have fled to safer parts of the country including Damascus, where some told the BBC that three people had been killed and six kidnapped.

They said al-Nusra fighters had desecrated churches and statues.

However, our correspondent in Maaloula has seen statues in churches which were left undamaged.

BBC News - Battle for Syria Christian town of Maaloula continues

The rebels declared on Tuesday that they would withdraw from Maaloula provided that pro-government forces did not take their place.

Jeremy Bowen's report on the families who fled Maaloula for Damascus

"To ensure no blood is spilt and that the properties of the people of Maaloula are kept safe, the Free Syrian Army announces that the town of Maaloula will be kept out of the struggle between the FSA and the regime army," a spokesman said in an online video

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Then on Sunday, activists said government soldiers and pro-government militiamen had been forced to pull back to the outskirts following a fresh rebel assault.

Since then, most of the town's 3,300 residents have fled to safer parts of the country including Damascus, where some told the BBC that three people had been killed and six kidnapped.

They said al-Nusra fighters had desecrated churches and statues.

However, our correspondent in Maaloula has seen statues in churches which were left undamaged.

BBC News - Battle for Syria Christian town of Maaloula continues

The rebels declared on Tuesday that they would withdraw from Maaloula provided that pro-government forces did not take their place.

Jeremy Bowen's report on the families who fled Maaloula for Damascus

"To ensure no blood is spilt and that the properties of the people of Maaloula are kept safe, the Free Syrian Army announces that the town of Maaloula will be kept out of the struggle between the FSA and the regime army," a spokesman said in an online video

Despite the words of the FSA spokesman, the BBC article reports that the fighting in Maaloula continues.