In major policy shift, president decides to provide military support to Syrian rebels in their fight

[CrazyJudy]

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/

Updated at 6:20 p.m. ET

The Obama administration has concluded that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons against the rebels seeking to overthrow him and, in a major policy shift, President Obama has decided to supply military support to the rebels, the White House announced Thursday.

"The president has made a decision about providing more support to the opposition that will involve providing direct support to the Supreme Military Council. That includes military support," Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes told reporters.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Will he know acknowledge that the CIA has been helping them all along?

I just read in the London Review of Books how the CIA and the Qataris had collaborated on at least 70 planeloads of weaponry sent to Turkey for the rebels.

Obama better be careful what's he wading into. Play with fire, and somethimes you get burned.

[MrSlayer]

2. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

Cowardly move. Capitulating to the MIC and the warmongers. Arming al-Qaeda and Islamic extremists. I hate this so much.

[magellan]

3. Eh, the CIA has been helping to arm them for some time

This will just make the supply line more straightforward.

[MrSlayer]

16. I still hate it.

It's a stupid idea. We need to stay the fuck out of it. This will not be good at all.

[magellan]

23. I agree with you

There aren't words to describe how pissed off I am at this and other things. The US is operating like an empire. We don't have any say in it.

[Laelth]

25. Indeed we are. We just didn't know who the Emperor was (most of us).

I only found out today, in fact. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/general-keith-alexander-cyberwar/all/

-Laelth

[magellan]

28. +1 I read your link to that earlier today

My conclusion: it doesn't matter who we elect, we won't be walking back from this. Ever.

We'd better get comfortable as a much despised and increasingly rogue empire, with any number of insane and despotic leaders to come before the fall.

[Laelth]

30. Yes. It feels rather tragic to me.

But, at the same time, perhaps the United States didn't change. Perhaps I did. Perhaps my eyes are just open now.



-Laelth

[magellan]

31. I wonder that myself more and more

Did the country I grew up learning about, the one moving inexorably, if slowly, towards ever greater justice and equality, never really exist? Was it all only words covering a giant lie?

I have no answers.

[arewenotdemo]

35. Yes, Obama's been aiding the jihadists for some time.

But this crystallizes things.

PNAC Barack.

[Eddie Haskell]

37. PNAC Barack

The PNAC agenda has been US policy since Nov. 2000. Obama changed tactics, not objectives. In 2008. the only question was, How do we proceed from here? Do we go neo-con, or adopt the Obama proxy approach? The neo-cons are pissed about the “freedom fighters” failures in Syria, and now want direct US involvement. The pressure is building and Obama is forced to make a move.

[John2]

17. Don't you

think it is time to let the Obama Administration go, because he is not listening to the people. He is ignoring the voters on too many issues. To be honest, I just don't believe him at all on the use of Chemical Weapons. The Syrian Army has no justification to use chemical weapons, to defeat the Rebels. He is trying to paint the rebels as good guys. Obama to me comes off as arrogant. The only reason he is doing this, is because he knows the rebels are losing. I just read reports on Aleppo, and the rebels will lose Aleppo, unless they get help. He disregards the atrocities by the rebels and keeps talking about Assad, without any evidence. That 14 year old boy was killed in Aleppo. Obama or his Adminstration said nothing about it. He just turns a blind eye to the rebels' atrocities for his regime change agenda. And his main advisors are neocons. His Administration is in bed with them.

[MrSlayer]

22. Yes. In fact it's time to forget the whole country.

The whole thing is a sham. All of it. There's no fixing this, there's no coming back.

[Laelth]

26. Cut the man some slack.

He's been under a lot of pressure to do this. I am astounded that he managed to ward off the dogs of war for this long.

I would not want to be in his shoes.

-Laelth

[arewenotdemo]

33. You're absolutely right, he never condemns anything the jihadists do.

Never critical of his boys when they car-bomb Damascus.

[femmocrat]

4. From the AP, via HuffPo:

Officials said Obama was considering both political and military options, but it was unclear how quickly new actions would be taken and what they would involve.

"We've prepared for many contingencies in Syria," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. "We are going to make decisions on further actions on our own timeline."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/13/syria-chemical-weapons-assad_n_3437640.html

Sounds like nothing is imminent and Obama is still trying to rally the allies. At least I hope so.

[rastaone]

7. Trying to rally the allies?

You got to be kidding right. France, England and NATO have been ready since last to week. Obama was the hold out. The only hope left is for Russia to stand strong and reject any further escalation of the war and make sure this is not a Libya 2.0

[humbled_opinion]

11. Russia....

Putin is flexing his new found muscles, he has ships in the Med just daring us to try and set up a no fly zone.... This smells like Vietnam all over again....

[rastaone]

13. Vietnam with nukes

Lets all home they are still restrained by the mutual assured destruction and both sides back down. But I think we will need a mass demonstration like we did in 2003 to stop this madness.

[humbled_opinion]

29. Yes how long before we have

a nuke armed drone.....????/

[roamer65]

32. Not Vietnam...more like Poland 1939.

[Eddie Haskell]

39. More like WWIII

[femmocrat]

14. The article goes on to say that he will discuss it at the G-8 and put more pressure on Putin.

I guess we will see what happens. I'm just glad that Obama is as deliberate as he is and not trigger-happy like bush/cheney.

I don't think there is much hope for Putin to be the cautious one though.

[Scuba]

5. No words could possibly express my disappointment.

[frylock]

6. fucking awesome

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Is this another Weapons of Mass Destruction moment?

did we go down this road before?

[Number23]

9. Rec!

[humbled_opinion]

10. OMG...

The Neocons have now recruited President Obama.... It's over folks the transition to President George W. Obama is complete....

[WestStar]

12. At least the previous administration gave us a dog and pony show

Last edited Thu Jun 13, 2013, 10:59 PM - Edit history (1)

before they fucked us.

[Brigid]

15. Let's see here . . .

We have infrastructure that's falling apart, seniors who can't afford to eat, kids to educate . . . I could go on, but I hardly think it's necessary.

NO MORE FUCKING WARS!!!!

[indio55555]

18. Mr. Obama

WHY? WTF do we gain from this s£!+?

[xiamiam]

36. we dont..but those guys who make the war machine run do..and it is never enough..contracts to fill,

yachts to buy, evil sobs who don't care anything about humanity.. beyond michiavellian or Orwellian..some horrible hybrid of the two

[dbackjon]

19. Great, just great

[CrazyJudy]

20. Drone bases in Israel, Turkey and Jordan (I assume) n/t

[stevenleser]

21. Oh God no. nt

[Laelth]

24. Sigh.

No surprise here. Just exhaustion.

-Laelth

[TheBadWolf]

27. Un-fucking-believable. The MIC wins again. n/t

[DonCoquixote]

34. This was because Bill

chided him, and we all know that means Hillary chided HIM.

[arewenotdemo]

42. You mean this Hillary?

[DonCoquixote]

47. EXACTLY

We may dislike Baathist like gaddafi and Hussein, but the Jihad HATED them.

[David__77]

38. This is appalling beyond belief.

The is wanton complicity with international terror - just like Reagan with Afghanistan. That's about all I can say about it, and nothing more here.

[Socal31]

44. You had me until Afghanistan.

The Russians invading Afghanistan was international terror, not the repelling of.

But that is neither here nor there. Our CIA has been in Syria arming and training Jihadis that will use those weapons on allies within 6 months. I can estimate such a tight timeline (unlike the 20+ years it took Afghans to use our weapons on us) because that is how long it took for the French to be shot in Mali.

[hoosierlib]

40. About effing time!

[summerschild]

41. This makes me sick.

There's no way to be in this one a little bit. We'll be in an all out war in short order.

Now can somebody go pick up John McCain's flabby ass and drop him inside Assad's front line? Some of those nice rebels he met will surely get around to saving him after while.

I cannot believe we're here again.

[cstanleytech]

43. Question, setting aside the US or Russia providing assistance to either side would

someone please explain which of the two sides is in this conflict would be the better one to run the country in the end?

[Ash_F]

48. Neither, there needs to be power sharing.

Sadly, it has gotten so violent that it will be hard to have any cooperation.

[malthaussen]

45. Oh joy oh rapture.

More "accidental" regime change? It will be interesting to see of what this aid will consist.

-- Mal

[Harmony Blue]

46. I feel like I want to go somewhere and hide

[Ash_F]

49. This is sad.

It was sad before, but are they just going to aid one side with out any stipulations about human rights? As seen in Iraq. As seen in Afghanistan. Libya. Saudi Arabia. Pakistan. Iran. Israel. ALL of South America.

Here we go again. Soon Syrians will be hating us for our freedoms too.

[Throd]

50. Let 'em fight it out until the borders of Shiastan and Sunnistan are established.