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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn Kerry, U.S. Military Clash on Approach to Syria's Rebels
Frustrated by the stalemate in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry has been pushing for the U.S. military to be more aggressive in supporting the country's rebel forces. Opposition has come from the institution that would spearhead any such effort: the Pentagon.
Mr. Kerry and United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power have advocated options that range from an American military intervention to weaken the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to using U.S. special operations forces to train and equip a large number of rebel fighters. Such moves would go far beyond the U.S.'s current engagement.
In recent White House meetings, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel have pushed back against military intervention, said senior officials.
They say the risk is high of being dragged into an open-ended foreign entanglement.
Read More: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304441304579479500649988892
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)is Kerry and Power begging Petraeus and Keane for ideas--trying to do an end-run around CURRENT Pentagon leaders? Yuck. Glad Hagel and Dempsey have been pushing back.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)Current and former State Department officials see the Pentagon's objections as a way of killing proposals without explicitly saying no. Pentagon officials say they are trying to prevent the U.S. from getting sucked into another messy Mideast conflict, a concern that also helps explain President Barack Obama's reluctance to engage more directly in Syria.
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Mr. Kerry now shares Gen. Dempsey's concerns about jeopardizing the transfer of Mr. Assad's chemical weapons so he isn't pushing for the military train-and-equip program to start immediately.
...made up bullshit. The WSJ's agenda is necon spin, and the transparent attempt is "dovish Pentagon." What a joke. After all the unsourced claims, they end with Kerry coming around to diplomacy.
Kerry And McCain Swap Teddy Roosevelt-Themed Insults...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024796074
Junkdrawer
(27,993 posts)Yet another occupation may be that final bridge too far....
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)The videos appeared online this week amid deep divisions between John Kerrys State Department and the Pentagon over how much more the US should involve itself militarily in the Syrian civil war.
The videos of the US-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles were posted online by Harakat Hazm, a Free Syrian Army brigade of fighters in north-west Syria linked to former Supreme Military Council leader Selim Idriss. There have also been reports that the Syrian Revolutionary Front of Jamal Marouf also now have TOW, or tube-launched anti-tank missiles.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/reports-of-rebels-with-tank-busters-raises-questions-of-us-role-in-syria
I do not want to mention my name, said a 20-year-old Free Syrian Army fighter, because the camp we practiced in was highly classified.
So classified, in fact, that the CIAwhich is rumored to be running the camp (but declined to comment for this article)still wont acknowledge it exists.
For nearly a year, rumors have swirled about a covert, US-run training camp for FSA fighters in the vast Jordanian desert. (Jordanian intelligence also did not respond to requests for comment on this article.) And last week it was reported that the Obama administration appears to be expanding "its covert program of training and assistance for the Syrian opposition." However, despite all this speculation, little is known about how this supposed Jordanian camp works, who trains there, and what tactics they learn
http://www.vice.com/read/syria-deraa-USA-Jordan-FSA-regime-CIA
seveneyes
(4,631 posts)Helping the Islamist that want to abuse and murder women and minorities is simply wrong. That a Democratic administration is doing this really takes the cake.