President Barack Obama\u2019s top foreign policy advisor Susan Rice on Friday [6 Jun 2014] said Washington was providing \u201clethal and non-lethal\u201d support to select members of the Syrian opposition, offering more detail than usual on US assistance.<\/p>\n
Top Obama administration officials typically decline to say exactly what equipment, arms or ammunition the United States is providing to moderate Syrian opposition forces.<\/p>\n
But President Barack Obama said in a major foreign policy speech last week that the United States would \u201cramp up\u201d support for rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.<\/p>\n
National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in an interview with CNN while she was traveling with Obama to D-Day 70th anniversary celebrations in Normandy that she was heartbroken about the carnage in Syria\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why the United States has ramped up its support for the moderate vetted opposition, providing lethal and non-lethal support where we can to support both the civilian opposition and the military opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials normally publicly refuse to comment on exactly what they are doing to train opposition groups.<\/p>\n
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to say whether Rice was announcing a new US policy by apparently being more open on US assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not in a position to detail all of our assistance, but as we\u2019ve made clear, we provide both military and non-military assistance to the opposition,\u201d Hayden said.<\/p>\n
Signs of a deepening commitment to Syrian rebels come three weeks after Obama met the head of the opposition National Coalition, Ahmad Jarba in Washington last month.<\/p>\n
Officially, US support for rebel fighters in Syria has been limited to non-lethal aid amounting to $287 million, though the CIA reportedly participates in a secret programme to train moderate rebels in Jordan.<\/p>\n
Opposition leaders are particularly dismayed that the United States has balked at providing anti-aircraft missiles to rebels, fearing they could fall into the wrong hands.<\/p>\n
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Obama is ready to sign off on training missions for selected rebel groups, to counter the rising power of Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.<\/p>\n