WSJ: US Begins Shipping Arms for Syrian Rebels, Saudi Antiaircraft Missiles Expected

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The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Central Intelligence Agency has begun moving weapons to Jordan from a network of secret warehouses and plans to start arming small groups of Syrian rebels within a month.

Quoting diplomats and US officials briefed on the plans, the daily stated that "the shipments, related training and a parallel push to mobilize arms deliveries from European and Arab allies are being timed to allow a concerted push by the armed groups starting by early August."

The diplomats and officials further revealed the details of a new covert plan authorized by Us President Barack Obama and disclosed earlier this month.
"The Central Intelligence Agency has begun moving weapons to start arming small groups of Syrian rebels within a month," it added.

In parallel, it the US paper highlighted that "the CIA is expected to spend up to three weeks bringing light arms and possibly antitank missiles to Jordan."
"The agency plans to spend roughly two weeks more vetting an initial group of fighters and making sure they know how to use the weapons that they are given, clearing the way for the first US-armed rebels to enter the fight," diplomats briefed on the CIA's plans said.

Talks are under way with other countries, including France, about pre-positioning European-procured weapons in Jordan. Saudi Arabia is expected to provide shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, known as Manpads, to a small number of handpicked fighters, as few as 20 at first, officials and diplomats said.
Up to a few hundred of the fighters will enter Syria under the program each month, starting in August, according to diplomats briefed on CIA plans.

At that rate, US and Saudi officials believe it would take four to five months before there are enough rearmed and trained fighters to make a meaningful difference, according to diplomats and U.S. officials.
A spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, Bernadette Meehan, declined to provide or confirm details on US assistance to rebels, including the timeline for delivery.

According to the daily, the US effort is designed to strengthen forces loyal to Gen Salim Idris, the top Syrian rebel commander backed by the West.
"The aim is to eventually shift the war in the rebels' favor, reversing gains by regime forces," officials said.
The CIA has put in place what officials have described as an "elaborate" vetting procedure for the rebels they train.

"Numbers are an issue," said a counterterrorism official. "Al-Nusra has added thousands of fighters in the past year. We are going to have to outpace that."
The CIA, in advance of Obama's decision to provide American arms, had already begun to store Soviet-era weapons, including ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles and armor-piercing antitank missiles. The first rebel units expected to receive arms and training by the US already have military experience using Soviet-era weapons, reducing the need for more extensive training.

To accelerate the effort, the CIA is considering putting US military special-operations force units under agency authority to conduct some of the training. The US is also considering using special-operations teams from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to ramp up the training effort, officials said.

Source: WSJ, Edited by website team