Washington’s new initiative aims to find out whether it can supply insurgent forces in Syria with weapons without them falling into the hands of what they describe as “extremists,” RT reports, citing American officials who spoke with US press agencies on condition of anonymity.
"They will try this first and see how it goes" before expanding it, said a former official.
According to local press reports, insurgent groups within Syria have already received anti-tank missiles, known as TOWs, which are specially designed to destroy tanks and pierce reinforced bunkers.
Responding to criticism that the US is arming extremist insurgents in Syria, Washington claims its weapons will not “fall into the wrong hands,” without elaborating.
This latest move by the US comes as the head of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition Forces, Ahmad Al-Jarba, visits Washington to lobby for more military and financial support.
Al-Jarba is also pressing Washington to supply the armed insurgents with anti-aircraft missiles, according to a New York Times report.
In a Washington meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Al-Jarba claimed that his coalition was “moderate and inclusive.”
“The coalition's goal is to build a pluralistic, civil state where the majority can live together with the minority in peace,” he so-claimed.
Washington has thrown its support behind the Syrian National Coalition, granting the foreign-based and sponsored body a diplomatic status in the US.
Washington, meanwhile, has suspended the Syrian Embassy in its capital in March.
Additionally, the White House has pledged an extra $27 million for helping the cause of the armed insurgents and terrorists in Syria.
This is while the foreign-backed insurgents in Syria have gained notoriety for abducting, torturing, executing and targeting many Syrian civilians, especially in areas populated by the country’s sizable Christian and Shia minorities.
The insurgents have also destroyed so many homes, buildings, historic and cultural monuments as well as infrastructures across the nation.
As the US steps up its support for the opposition, the Damascus government has scheduled presidential elections for June 3. Bashar Assad will run for re-election against rival candidates Maher Abdul-Hafiz Hajjar, 46, and Hassan bin Abdullah al-Nouri, 54.
MB/MB