Who is arming the syrian rebels

Agency Insider. Don't miss a brief. Sign up for our daily email. Your Email. It does not specify what types of weapons our government will give the groups. It does not prohibit boots on the ground It does not state the financial cost of the war.

As we should have learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must plan for multiple satisfactory ends to military conflicts before we commence them. Would the groups assemble a coalition government of anti-Assad fighters, and would that coalition include ISIS?

What would happen to the Alawites and Christians who stood with Assad? To what extent would the U. If the Syrian groups that we support begin to lose, would we let them be defeated? If not, is there any limit to American involvement in the war? It's only a concession if what our intention is, is actually to wrest some sort of other concession out of the regime or out of Russia.

And I don't think that is the case. I think we're really just kind of hoping that the Russians will deliver on the cease-fire agreements. And, well, let's see if that happens. I'm very skeptical, but let's see. Well, what about the aggressions that have happened on the parts of the Assad regime and the Russians, in sometimes their indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians and so forth? Yes, I think our voice at the table started decreasing when we failed to respond to chemical weapons attacks on August , failed to respond to the Russian entry and the subsequent escalation.

I think all the parties really on the other side have already sort of taken measure of us and understood what our commitments are and what they aren't, and that we don't have the stomach for a fight against Bashar al-Assad or even the stomach for sort of stopping these sort of atrocities that you're talking about.

So, these will continue until they're no longer needed. And then you will see one opposition area after the other come under regime control. And, definitely, yes, there is nothing standing in the way anymore in, for example, Southern Syria. Support Provided By: Learn more. Monday, Oct The Latest. World Agents for Change. Health Long-Term Care. For Teachers. Russia has continued to supply the Syrian military with weapons and equipment throughout the conflict.

Moscow insists it is only fulfilling pre-existing contracts and that it is not violating any international sanctions. Despite Western pressure, Moscow insisted earlier this year that it would be honouring its previously agreed contract with Damascus for supplying sophisticated S surface-to-air missile defence systems.

Although it is believed that the missiles are yet to be delivered to Syria. Russia has already reportedly sent advanced Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles , SA surface-to-air missiles, and short-range Pantsyr-S missile systems. Iran has stepped up its military support of Syrian government forces since the end of , according to Western officials.

Tehran is believed to have become a key supplier of rockets, anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. However, Iranian officials deny breaking the UN sanctions imposed on its arms exports. To evade the sanctions, Tehran has allegedly been transporting most of the weapons through Iraqi airspace on commercial planes and, more recently, overland through Iraq by lorry, something the Iraqi government denies.

Photographs and videos published online appear to provide evidence of recent Iranian arms shipments. One purportedly shows an Iranian-made rocket , on which the date of manufacture is listed as ; another an ammunition crate containing mortar shells made by a Iranian defence ministry subsidiary in Syria's rebel groups are believed to have acquired their weapons and ammunition through a variety of means, including the black market, battlefield capture, improvised factories, and shipments paid for by individuals, groups and foreign governments.

Commanders have appealed for advanced weapons, but have reportedly received only limited shipments of small arms. Representatives of the main rebel umbrella group, the Free Syrian Army FSA , have said that the vast majority of its weaponry has been bought on the black market or seized from government facilities.

Rebel groups have captured a number of military bases since , including at Atareb, Taftanaz, Jirah and Tiyas.