Were The Syrian Rebels Betrayed By The CIA

Did The CIA Betray Syria’s Rebels? -- Mike Giglio, Daily Beast/Newsweek

Americans didn’t keep promises to opposition leaders. Now they’ve turned against the U.S.

In mid-August, a well-connected Syrian activist drove to the border city of Gaziantep in southern Turkey to meet two officers from the CIA. The officers had set up shop in a conference room at a luxury hotel, where representatives from a handful of opposition groups lounged in the lobby, waiting for their turn at an audience.

The activist, who had been a journalist before the conflict, came with three colleagues from Aleppo, the Syrian commercial capital that had recently turned into the main theater of the war. Inside the room, two casually dressed Americans were rolling up maps from the previous meeting. The Americans introduced themselves as CIA officers and said they were there to help with the overthrow of Syria’s authoritarian president, Bashar al-Assad.

Read more ....

My Comment: When it comes to promises or "maybe support" in the future .... people want to hear what they want to hear. In a desperate situation such as Syria .... I suspect that these rebels did expect substantial support from the U.S., especially after they have met CIA officers. I am also sure that many of these rebels talk among themselves, and one when talked about (maybe) receiving support they then all probably started to believe that they would also receive support. Bottom line .... all that they had to do was follow the news from the U.S. or read the comments from someone like Sen. John McCain and they would realize very quickly that the U.S. had and has no policy in regards to assisting the Syrian rebel movement .... and leave it at that. As to blaming the CIA .... that's an easy target to blame but not the right one. Foreign policy always originates from the White House .... that is where the blame must be directed.