Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels - Polidicks

[quote][B]President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.[/B] Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad. This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against the Damascus government. The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some U.S. allies do just that. But U.S. and European officials have said that there have been noticeable improvements in the coherence and effectiveness of Syrian rebel groups in the past few weeks. That represents a significant change in assessments of the rebels by Western officials, who previously characterized Assad's opponents as a disorganized, almost chaotic, rabble. Precisely when Obama signed the secret intelligence authorization, an action not previously reported, could not be determined. The full extent of clandestine support that agencies like the CIA might be providing also is unclear. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined comment. 'NERVE CENTER' A U.S. government source acknowledged that under provisions of the presidential finding, the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies. Last week, Reuters reported that, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad's opponents. This "nerve center" is in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 60 miles from the Syrian border, which is also home to Incirlik, a U.S. air base where U.S. military and intelligence agencies maintain a substantial presence. Turkey's moderate Islamist government has been demanding Assad's departure with growing vehemence. Turkish authorities are said by current and former U.S. government officials to be increasingly involved in providing Syrian rebels with training and possibly equipment. European government sources said wealthy families in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were providing significant financing to the rebels. Senior officials of the Saudi and Qatari governments have publicly called for Assad's departure. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles, weapons that could be used against Assad's helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Syrian government armed forces have employed such air power more extensively in recent days. NBC said the shoulder-fired missiles, also known as MANPADs, had been delivered to the rebels via Turkey. On Wednesday, however, Bassam al-Dada, a political adviser to the Free Syrian Army, denied the NBC report, telling the Arabic-language TV network Al-Arabiya that the group had "not obtained any such weapons at all." U.S. government sources said they could not confirm the MANPADs deliveries, but could not rule them out either. Current and former U.S. and European officials previously said that weapons supplies, which were being organized and financed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were largely limited to guns and a limited number of anti-tank weapons, such as bazookas. Indications are that U.S. agencies have not been involved in providing weapons to Assad's opponents. In order to do so, Obama would have to approve a supplement, known as a "memorandum of notification, to his initial broad intelligence finding. Further such memoranda would have to be signed by Obama to authorize other specific clandestine operations to support Syrian rebels. Reuters first reported last week that the White House had crafted a directive authorizing greater U.S. covert assistance to Syrian rebels. It was unclear at that time whether Obama had signed it. OVERT SUPPORT Separately from the president's secret order, the Obama administration has stated publicly that it is providing some backing for Assad's opponents. The State Department said on Wednesday the U.S. government had set aside a total of $25 million for "non-lethal" assistance to the Syrian opposition. A U.S. official said that was mostly for communications equipment, including encrypted radios. The State Department also says the United States has set aside $64 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people, including contributions to the World Food Program, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other aid agencies. Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury confirmed it had granted authorization to the Syrian Support Group, Washington representative of one of the most active rebel factions, the Free Syrian Army, to conduct financial transactions on the rebel group's behalf. The authorization was first reported on Friday by Al-Monitor, a Middle East news and commentary website. Last year, when rebels began organizing themselves to challenge the rule of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Obama also signed an initial "finding" broadly authorizing secret U.S. backing for them. But the president moved cautiously in authorizing specific measures to support them. Some U.S. lawmakers, such as Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have criticized Obama for moving too slowly to assist the rebels and have suggested the U.S. government become directly involved in arming Assad's opponents. Other lawmakers have suggested caution, saying too little is known about the many rebel groups. Recent news reports from the region have suggested that the influence and numbers of Islamist militants, some of them connected to al Qaeda or its affiliates, have been growing among Assad's opponents. U.S. and European officials say that, so far, intelligence agencies do not believe the militants' role in the anti-Assad opposition is dominant. While U.S. and allied government experts believe that the Syrian rebels have been making some progress against Assad's forces lately, most believe the conflict is nowhere near resolution, and could go on for years.[/quote] [url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120801]Source[/url] [I]Secret[/I].

Doesn't sound very secret if we know about it already.

[QUOTE=EliteGuy;37050957]Doesn't sound very secret if we know about it already.[/QUOTE] It is, just don't tell anybody outside of Facepunch about this ok?

Fairly sure the CIA has already been helping by selling them weapons and teaching them how to shoot.

[QUOTE=stupidass;37051051]Fairly sure the CIA has already been helping by selling them weapons and teaching them how to shoot.[/QUOTE] Is this some kind of joke about Al-Qa'ida?

Well, it USED to be secret. Now that the cat's out of the bag, expect some serious political repercussions from Syria.

Fucking media.

I wonder how long it will be until we divert some of the troops we already have out there into Syria. [QUOTE=Xenomoose;37051103]Well, it USED to be secret. Now that the cat's out of the bag, expect some serious political repercussions from Syria.[/QUOTE] And if they try to start some shit they're fucked. They're barely able to hold their own country against the rebels. Poking another nation with a stick. [i]any[/i] other nation, is suicide for Assad's regime. America's probably the worst one to poke with a stick though, given our propensity to give common sense, the UN, NATO and any naysayers the finger when it comes to liberating countries. We have a habit of doing so whether they want it or not.

[QUOTE=Xenomoose;37051103]Well, it USED to be secret. Now that the cat's out of the bag, expect some serious political repercussions from Syria.[/QUOTE] What are they gonna do? Send in their army against the US?

Why the hell would you make [B]covert[/B] operations public.

[QUOTE=TestECull;37051295]And if they try to start some shit they're fucked. They're barely able to hold their own country against the rebels. Poking another nation with a stick. [i]any[/i] other nation, is suicide for Assad's regime. America's probably the worst one to poke with a stick though, given our propensity to give common sense, the UN, NATO and any naysayers the finger when it comes to liberating countries. We have a habit of doing so whether they want it or not.[/QUOTE] Well they've already provoked Turkey into adopting a shoot-on-sight policy for Syrian troops. They're currently working on pissing off Jordan it seems; yesterday [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19090143]they opened fire[/url] on Jordanian soldiers across the border, who were waiting to receive refugees. [editline]2nd August 2012[/editline] It looks like CIA stuff may have already begun. A Guardian journalist [url=https://twitter.com/martinchulov/status/231048698430369792]twe[/url][url=https://twitter.com/martinchulov/status/231050379423539200]ets[/url] that the former head of Syria's chemical weapons unit has been 'questioned for hours' by the CIA and Turkish officials about where the weapons are stored and the regime's plans for them

[QUOTE=EliteGuy;37050957]Doesn't sound very secret if we know about it already.[/QUOTE] They're speculating that he signed the order months ago, if that's true they've kept a lid on it pretty well.

[editline]2nd August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=kaukassus;37051314]What are they gonna do? Send in their army against the US?[/QUOTE] It'd last about thirty seconds.

It be best if they sent drones out there, while undercover CIA agents coordinate strikes on Syrian military targets.

[QUOTE=smurfy;37051411]Well they've already provoked Turkey into adopting a shoot-on-sight policy for Syrian troops. They're currently working on pissing off Jordan it seems; yesterday [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19090143]they opened fire[/url] on Jordanian soldiers across the border, who were waiting to receive refugees.[/quote] Like I said, they poke another country with the stick and it's over. they're too thinly stretched to hold the country as it is. They can't keep their armor in their own hands, they can't hardly keep control over their cities...they don't have the manpower to fight a multi-fronted war. If they try to start any shit over this support bill they might as well dig their graves in advance, because that's the only place they will be going.

I hope CIA support can give the Free Syrian Army an edge, [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/30/al-qaida-rebels-battle-syria]Guardian recently reported[/url] that many fighters are being driven to join al-Qaeda instead because the FSA has no real organisation or planning in its attacks while AQ has a well-established structure and has called in experienced fighters from Iraq who are experts at using guerrilla tactics

I really hope America figures out dropping concrete (the same way the french did in Libya) Their cities are destroyed enough already. Whoever wins is going to be governing a pile of rubble and a destroyed infrastructure.

Even if we know about it it's still secret because we aren't aware of details. Besides, it's safe to assume the CIA have their hands in any 3rd world conflict at some point.

[QUOTE=kaukassus;37051314]What are they gonna do? Send in their army against the US?[/QUOTE] That's why I said "Political Repercussions", not "Military Reaction".

meh we prob already had green berets in there already as thats what they where meant to do, train and equip rebels

[QUOTE=Xenomoose;37056116]That's why I said "Political Repercussions", not "Military Reaction".[/QUOTE] oh no, a trade embargo

[QUOTE=CAPSMAN!;37056472]oh no, a trade embargo[/QUOTE] More like a dickwaving contest during a UN session, but they're pretty much the same thing. :v: