Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — The Gulf Cooperation Council intends to form a war chest
for the Sunni revolt in Syria.

GCC states have agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to arm,
train and pay Sunni fighters sworn to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Diplomats said the GCC effort would be led by Qatar and Saudi Arabia and
also reward those who desert Assad’s military and security forces.

“There has been significant funding by the GCC for at least eight
months,” a diplomat said. “The difference is that this is now public and meant to encourage defections [from the Assad regime.]”

On April 1, the GCC and other states met in the Turkish city of Istanbul to discuss ways to help the Syrian opposition. Diplomats said Turkey and the United States have quietly endorsed a GCC fund for the Sunni rebels as well
as for defectors from the Assad regime.

“For these supplies to be sent, neighboring countries need to allow for the transfer via their sea ports and across borders,” the opposition Syrian National Council said.

For its part, Washington reported supplying communications equipment to
the Syrian opposition. Officials said the administration of U.S. President
Barack Obama, which approved $12 million in aid, was not ruling out
additional assistance.

“We are discussing with our international partners how best to expand
this support,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

The diplomats said the GCC fund was meant to ensure major support for
the Sunni rebels amid the decline of the Syrian economy. They said the fund,
reported to comprise of at least $100 million over the next three months,
would pay salaries to Sunni rebels, much of it through the Free Syrian Army,
as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned SNC. The support was expected
to flow through Jordan and Turkey.

“If the United Nations Security Council fails once again to bring about
its historic responsibility, there will be no other choice than to support
the Syrian people’s right to self-defense,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Erdogan said.

Analysts said the United States appeared to be ignoring the Sunni rebel
movement, which still lacks a central command. They cited the emergence of
Al Qaida-inspired commanders, including a Salafist sheik in the northern
province of Idlib said to lead about 1,000 fighters.

“Such fundamentalist, Gulf-funded groups do not share long-term U.S.
policy goals,” Andrew Tabler, a leading researcher at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, said. “Washington should begin to explore
other options in that area.”

  Bashar Assad, Free Syrian Army, Gulf Cooperation Council, Gulf states give millions to arm Syrian rebels; U.S. supplies communications tech, Hillary Clinton, Sunni rebels, Syrian National Council