2012: Sources: U.S. helping underwrite Syrian rebel training on securing chemical weapons

[kpete]

December 9th, 2012

Sources: U.S. helping underwrite Syrian rebel training on securing chemical weapons
By Elise Labott

The United States and some European allies are using defense contractors to train Syrian rebels on how to secure chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria, a senior U.S. official and several senior diplomats told CNN Sunday.

The training, which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.

The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the officials cautioned against assuming all are American.

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MORE (just thought this was interesting):
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/09/sources-defense-contractors-training-syrian-rebels-in-chemical-weapons/?hpt=hp_t1

[pnwmom]

1. If the rebels won territory that included stores of chemical weapons, wouldn't it be very important

that they know how to secure them?

[Wilms]

2. ^