Good thing this was kept secret. Al Reuters has the secret exclusive
President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.
Obama’s order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence “finding,” broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.
So, now the Syrian regime, and their Iranian backers, know that US agents could possibly be in Syrian assisting the rebels.
This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad’s armed opponents – a shift that intensified following last month’s failure of the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against the Damascus government.
The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some U.S. allies do just that.
What, is the O admin. going to give them Tasers, or possibly Nerf guns? What’s the big deal? Actually, they’re giving them communications tech.
Fortunately, other secret stuff was exposed
A U.S. government source acknowledged that under provisions of the presidential finding, the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.
Last week, Reuters reported that, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad’s opponents.
Not so secret now.
It begs the question, why was this information released? As Ace points out
Remember when SEAL Team Six didn’t exist? Or back when details of SEAL tactics were not supposed to be known by the world at large? Or back when it was a secret that the FLAME computer virus used the neat-o tactic of sending its data to nearby Bluetooth-equipped phones and laptops, to get the information transmitted from the secure (not connected to the internet) networks?
Yes, that was “secrecy” before Barack Obama needed a reelection boost, back when “secrecy” meant “we don’t leak this information to our partisan agents in the media.”
This is yet another case of the O admin. releasing secret information in what one can only assume is politically motivated, in order to burnish Obama’s national security cred. Like Ace, I mostly support this action, however, one thing to consider is that this assistance may be too late, as hardcore Islamists have stepped into the vacuum on the side of the rebels.
Team O. never seems to learn that secret means “keep your mouth shut.”
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
Gah!
Supporting the ousting of a nation’s leader — specifically, Mubarak — really worked well, so let’s repeat the same in Syria.
Supporting the overthrow of Saddam worked out great too, some people still think that the price we paid 5000 dead was well worth it.
Of course Obama will help the Islamist. To see what we face read, ‘THE COMING” A TRUE STORY OF HORROR’ @ amazon.com
The ONLY reason this is getting out is because the administration releases secret information to try and show that he is not weak.
And yet, no one is trying to stop it either.
Heard news reports that American soldiers are now located on the border with Syria… awaiting word to enter.
We have less a reason to enter Egypt, Libya, and esp Syria than we ever had with Iraq. Anyone hear the left crying and screaming over this?