The United States is preparing plans to escalate the CIA’s role in
arming and training anti-government militants in Syria, as they are suffering
from low morale, a new report says.
Officials say the move is aimed at accelerating covert US support
to “moderate” militant groups, while the Pentagon is preparing to establish its
own training bases, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.
“We need a little more urgency in helping the moderates, and the
agency was viewed as the best way to get that going fast,” said a senior US
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The prospect of expanding the program of the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) was discussed at a meeting of senior national security officials
at the White House last week.
The proposed buildup would expand the CIA’s clandestine activities
that have grown significantly over the past year.
The CIA has declined to comment on any aspect of its role in
Syria. The spy agency now vets and trains about 400 insurgents fighting against
the government of President Bashar al-Assad each month.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. Nearly
200,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the
violence fueled by the militants.
The United States and its regional allies -- especially Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- have been supporting the militants operating inside
Syria since the beginning of the crisis.
The Obama administration has already outlined a $500 million
program to train and arm 5,000 “moderate” militants in Syria to fight against
ISIL and the Assad government, but according to the Pentagon, the number would
be something between 12,000 and 15,000.
Source: Press-TV
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