Despite evidence pointing to the obvious defects in such an idea, President Barack Obama is pressing forward with his plan to ship armaments to the Syrian rebellion in hopes of turning the tide in the two-and-a-half year-old conflict. While Congress, for now, has shot down the idea of targeted air strikes against Bashar al-Assad, the president hopes to exert some influence in the civil war by arming the "moderate elements of the opposition."
During the Congressional debate over the air strike plan, Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that only 10 to 15 percent of the rebellion were Islamic factions and jihadists. Yet a secret report drawn up by British intelligence officials and defense contractors contradicts this number, placing it at roughly half of the estimated 100,000-person rebel armed forces.
According to the Jerusalem Post, not only are the Syrian radicals the most numerous but they have proven to be the most effective fighters against Assad's forces. Yet this comes with a price, as the jihadists themselves are splintered into numerous groups, including those waging global jihad and others who want to establish a new Islamic kingdom in the land between Syria and Iraq.
These numbers don't seem to faze the president or his advisors. Instead, it's more important that the conflict is settled on whatever terms they can dictate, especially given the Russian diplomatic intervention that may spare the region from dramatically accelerated volatility and, more likely, continued violence. Obama's "interpretation" of the Arms Export Control Act will no doubt deepen American involvement in a foreign civil war.
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