4 Ways the U.S. Is Violently Meddling In the Syrian Civil War [View all]

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http://www.alternet.org/world/how-us-violently-meddling-syrian-civil-war



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1. Light Arms to Rebels

The most direct form of American intervention is the flow of small arms to rebels in the south of Syria, where they control some territory. In late January, Reuters revealed that Congress had approved funding for months of further arms deliveries.

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2. U.S. Training

One of the first substantial interventionist moves the U.S. made was its decision to train Syrian rebels. Since late 2012, the CIA and U.S. special forces troops stationed in Jordan and Turkey have trained Syrian opposition forces. The training was started months before arms began to flow to the rebels.

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3. Non-Lethal Aid

In early 2013, the Obama administration announced it was sending $60 million in “non-lethal” aid to the Free Syrian Army in the form of food rations and medical supplies. In April 2013, the U.S. said it would double the amount of“non-lethal aid sent to Syria, which is meant in part to allow Syrian opposition forces to provide essential services on the ground in areas they control. This time, the non-lethal aid included things like communications equipment, vehicles and night-vision goggles. In other words, the kind of aid necessary for rebels to be lethal.

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4. Sanctions

Syria has been under some form of Western sanctions for decades. But in the aftermath of Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters when the uprising began in 2011, more sanctions were imposed.