Syrians rest as a man carries a child in front of buildings left in ruins in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan, June 13.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, goes the old (military) adage.
The Obama Administration, responding to the purported use of chemical weapons by Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, has opted to respond with an ounce of cure.
The Presidential decision means that, for the first time, the U.S. government is formally providing offensive arms to the rebels. It signals a significant political – if not military – escalation.
Syrian forces have the upper hand in its two-year battle with Syrian rebels. There is little evidence that Washington can reverse that tide, given its late, limited decision to come to the rebels’ aid, some U.S. officials believe.
“The intelligence community estimates that 100 to 150 people have died from detected chemical weapon attacks in Syria to date,” White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said. “As we’ve consistently said, the use of chemical weapons violates international norms and crosses red lines that have existed in the international community for decades.”
The UN estimated Thursday that 93,000 people have died in the Syrian war, meaning that those killed by chemical weapons account for 0.16% of the toll, at most.
The White House said that it would offer “direct military support” to the rebels, but declined to offer details. Defense officials suggested it could include anti-armor weapons and small arms, but would not include the shoulder-fired missiles the rebels want to down the Syrian warplanes and helicopter gunships that have been attacking them.
The dribble of weaponry, even added to that dispatched by European and Middle Eastern nations, is unlikely to tilt the battlefield balance the rebels’ way, Pentagon officials say. Assad has powerful allies of his own, including Russian and Iran.
The CIA will likely funnel the weapons to the Syrian Military Council, a moderate rebel organization, through Jordan, Turkey, or both. There are concerns inside the Pentagon that the arms could fall into the hands of more radical rebels linked to al Qaeda.
There are currently no plans to launch a no-fly zone to protect the rebels from Syrian forces, which the rebels – and advocates, like Senator John McCain – have been seeking. Pentagon officials have said the irregular warfare occurring inside Syria, without well-defined front lines, make the utility of a no-fly zone questionable.