Congress delaying U.S. aid to Syrian rebels - sources

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Exclusive: Congress delaying U.S. aid to Syrian rebels - sources

By Mark Hosenball and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON | Mon Jul 8, 2013 6:55pm EDT

(Reuters) - Congressional committees are holding up a plan to send U.S. weapons to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because of fears that such deliveries will not be decisive and the arms might end up in the hands of Islamist militants, five U.S. national security sources said.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees have expressed reservations behind closed doors at the effort by President Barack Obama's administration to support the insurgents by sending them military hardware.

None of the military aid that the United States announced weeks ago has arrived in Syria, according to an official from an Arab country and Syrian opposition sources.

Democrats and Republicans on the committees worry that weapons could reach factions like the Nusra Front, which is one of the most effective rebel groups but has also been labeled by the United States as a front for al Qaeda in Iraq.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/08/us-usa-syria-arms-idUSBRE96713N20130708

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. For once, it's not the White House trying to rein in a batshit crazy Congress.

But a Congress responding with justified caution to Obama's reckless steps toward deeper involvement in the Syrian civil war. Obama, quit listening to Susan Rice! Please.