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Top general urges caution on Syria options, rebels
Source: Reuters
Top general urges caution on Syria options, rebels
By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON | Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:31pm EDT
(Reuters) - The United States has a less clear understanding of Syria's opposition than it did last year, the top U.S. military officer said on Monday, in comments likely to disappoint rebels hoping that America might be inching toward a decision to arm them.
"About six months ago, we had a very opaque understanding of the opposition and now I would say it's even more opaque," said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Dempsey, who is President Barack Obama's top uniformed military adviser, said he would also advise extreme caution when deliberating any military options in Syria - saying the conflict posed "the most complex set of issues that anyone could ever conceive, literally."
"I don't think at this point I can see a military option that would create an understandable outcome," Dempsey told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "And until I do, it would be my advice to proceed cautiously."
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By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON | Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:31pm EDT
(Reuters) - The United States has a less clear understanding of Syria's opposition than it did last year, the top U.S. military officer said on Monday, in comments likely to disappoint rebels hoping that America might be inching toward a decision to arm them.
"About six months ago, we had a very opaque understanding of the opposition and now I would say it's even more opaque," said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Dempsey, who is President Barack Obama's top uniformed military adviser, said he would also advise extreme caution when deliberating any military options in Syria - saying the conflict posed "the most complex set of issues that anyone could ever conceive, literally."
"I don't think at this point I can see a military option that would create an understandable outcome," Dempsey told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "And until I do, it would be my advice to proceed cautiously."
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-syria-crisis-usa-idUSBRE92H0ZA20130318