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A Syrian female rebel monitors the movement of Syrian government forces in the Sheikh Maqsud district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in April.
Dimitar Dilkoff /AFP/Getty Images
A Syrian female rebel monitors the movement of Syrian government forces in the Sheikh Maqsud district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in April.
Dimitar Dilkoff /AFP/Getty Images
On Thursday, the United States revealed that it now has “high confidence” that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebel forces.
This is a significant development because President Obama has often said that such a finding would cross a “red line” in the civil war that has killed at least 93,000.
The big, looming question today is: Now what? We’ll keep trying to answer that question throughout the day. But we’ll start with a rundown of the latest developments:
— Small Arms?: During a press conference with reporters on Thursday, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes would not give details as to the type of “military support” the United States would now provide rebels.
Quoting “American officials,” The New York Times reports today that the Obama administration has decided to supply the rebels with “small arms and ammunition.” For now, the Times reports, the administration has not decided whether it will supply rebels with antitank weapons. The paper adds that antiaircraft weapons are “not under consideration.”
— Less Than Expected: NPR’s Deborah Amos, who has been covering the conflict, tells Morning Edition that for the rebels the new U.S. position is “less than expected.”
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Article source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/14/191543189/u-s-says-syria-crossed-red-line-now-what?ft=1&f=1001