Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — For the first time, the United States has allowed the
purchase of weapons for Sunni rebels in Syria.

The Treasury Department has issued a license for a non-profit group to
collect money for military equipment for the Sunni revolt against Syrian
President Bashar Assad.

Officials said the waiver reflected a White House decision to provide
military aid to FSA and Western-aligned rebel forces. They said the
administration of President Barack Obama has been concerned that Al Qaida,
through supporters in the Gulf, would seize control of the rebel movement.

“We are seeing many cases of non-Islamist fighters moving over to Al
Qaida-inspired groups because they are well-financed by foreign supporters
and can offer better salaries,” an official said. “This has hurt FSA and
others willing to deal with us.”

Officials said Obama has directed the U.S. intelligence community to
help the Syrian rebels, particularly FSA. They said the assistance included
training, coordination and facilitating weapons shipments from Turkey.

The license issued by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 23 allowed the Syrian Support Group to send money directly to rebels not under U.S. sanctions.

“This clearly reflected a decision from the White House,” an official
said.

The Syrian Support Group has been identified as the lobbyist of the Free Syrian Army. FSA, based in Turkey, has sought to become an umbrella for the hundreds of militias that fight the Assad regime.

“It gets us the leeway to support the Free Syrian Army in broad terms,” Brian Sayers, Washington lobbyist of the Syrian Support Group, said.

Since the revolt erupted in March 2011, the United States has refused to
provide military aid to the rebels. Over the last few months, the
administration of President Barack Obama, pressed by Congress, approved
funds for non-lethal equipment, including satellite communications, for FSA.

The waiver provided by Treasury would not allow Americans to contribute
to rebel militias identified with Al Qaida. The Syrian Support Group
has identified nine military councils of FSA that would receive money
imminently for salaries as well as weapons and other equipment needed
to overthrow the Assad regime.

On Aug. 1, the State Department announced $25 million in U.S. aid to the

rebels. The aid was again described as “non-lethal.” and officials said the
money would be spent to buy the rebels encrypted communications.

“There is the $15 million pot of money, but in addition to that we have
another $10 million that we have obligated and are spending to assist the
Syrian opposition out of wider funds that we spend in the region,” State
Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

On Aug. 2, the White House said Obama approved another $12 million in
what it called humanitarian aid to Syria. White House press secretary Jay
Carney said the funds would be spent on “food, water, medical supplies,
clothing, hygiene kits, and other humanitarian relief to those most urgently
in need.”

Officials, however, did not confirm reports that FSA acquired its first
batch of surface-to-air missiles in an effort to stop air strikes by the
Assad regime. FSA political adviser Bassam Al Dada said his group has not obtained
the weapons systems.

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