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| Home Front: Politix |
| Congress delays aid to Syrian rebels by restricting funds |
| 2013-07-10 |
| In a decision that is getting little play in the media, lawmakers moved last month to block President Obama from arming Syrian rebels in what is turning out to be little more than a sectarian civil war. House and Senate Intelligence panel members have voted to prevent the arming of the rebels by placing severe restrictions on available funding, committee insiders told The Hill. The concern of many on Capitol Hill is that the administration plan would let weapons fall into the hands of terrorist groups, such as the many linked to al Qaeda, The Hill noted. The article further reports: The exact nature of the restrictions is unknown because the committees voted privately on the basis of classified information. What is known is that the restrictions are sufficient to prevent the administration from delivering arms as planned, according to a source familiar with the actions. The committee “voted to allow them to make some movement on this, but it’s restricted,” said one Senate panel insider, who declined to elaborate on the total aid or the restrictions added by the Intelligence panels, which both met again on Tuesday. “It was a very restrictive amount.” Reuters reported Monday that none of the military aid that the United States announced weeks ago has arrived in Syria, according to an official from an Arab country and Syrian opposition sources. |
| Posted by:tipper |