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NYT Continues to Downplay How CIA-Funneled Arms to Syrian Rebels Helped Strengthen Jihadists

by Oct 23, 2013Articles, Foreign Policy0 comments

As usual, the New York Times is spinning information to willfully obfuscate the role of the U.S. in arming Syrian rebels whose ranks include al-Qaeda-affiliated and other Islamic extremist groups, with most of the arms falling into the hands of the jihadists.

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As usual, the New York Times is spinning information to willfully obfuscate the role of the U.S. in arming Syrian rebels whose ranks include al-Qaeda-affiliated and other Islamic extremist groups, with most of the arms falling into the hands of the jihadists.

The Times begins by explaining how Turkey has been supporting the rebels and offering them a base from which to operate in their effort to violently overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad, then continues:

But now, Turkey finds itself in the same position as many of the rebels’ early backers, including the United States — concerned that Islamist radicals have come to dominate the ranks of the Syrian opposition. It shelled rebel positions this week for the first time since the war started, in yet another positive turn for Mr. Assad, who has found his position increasingly stable, if not secure.

The U.S. was not “concerned” enough not to have had the CIA coordinate the flow of arms to the rebels and then, after the Times itself reported that most of those arms wound up with the extremists, the U.S. was not “concerned” enough not to go ahead and start directly arming the rebels. In the next paragraph, the Times adds:

Mr. Erdogan has himself been criticized for allowing weapons to get into the hands of jihadists.

Further down:

The strikes by the Turkish Army this week, in response to a shell that landed inside Turkey without causing damage, seemed aimed at countering criticism that Turkey had fostered the growth of jihadist groups.

No mention of the fact that it was the CIA coordinating and directing the flow of arms. And the Times mentions only in passing more than halfway through the piece that “…the United States has provided some training and arms…”

A bit further down still:

On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry reinforced that position when he said in an interview with NPR that a political solution would seek to “maintain the institutions of state.”

This goes to how the U.S.’s policy is to prolong the violence in Syria.

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