U.S. Opposes Saudi Arabia Supplying Shoulder-Fired Missiles And Anti-Tank Guided Missiles To Syria's Rebels

U.S. Opposes Supply Of Shoulder-Fired Missiles To Syria Rebels -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The United States is opposed to the supply of shoulder-fired missiles, capable of taking down warplanes, to rebel forces in Syria, a senior Obama administration official said on Tuesday.

The official, traveling with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Tunisia, was responding to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Friday which said Saudi Arabia had offered to give Syrian rebels Chinese man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, and anti-tank guided missiles from Russia.

The newspaper cited an Arab diplomat and several opposition sources with knowledge of the efforts.

The Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "The administration remains opposed to any provision of MANPADS to the Syrian opposition."

Read more ....

Previous Post: Saudi Arabia Will Now Supply The Syrian Rebels With Anti-Aircraft Missiles

My Comment: U.S. concerns are justified .... these shoulder-fired missiles could be used against civilian airliners and/or other vulnerable civilian targets. My prediction .... the Saudis are going to hold back supplying these weapons until after President Obama has visited the kingdom in March. If the talks go bad .... expect these missiles and weapon systems to be showing up in the hands of the rebels a month or two later.