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| U.S. C-17 unloads MREs and medical supplies |
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| Trucks Transport American Goods |
United States delivered its first direct shipment of food and medical supplies to the rebel Free Syrian Army. The U.S. C-17 transport aircraft based out of Dover Air Force Base transported MREs, (Meal Ready to Eat) and medical supplies called Warrior Aid and Litter Kits totaling around 8 million dollars. Secretary of State John Kerry met with the FSA commander to oversee the delivery and its transportation to the warehouse in Aleppo Province. The supplies will be distributed to units under the command of the Supreme Military Council operating throughout each of Syria's 14 provinces. The Syrian Support Group (SSG) is the only U.S.-based organization licensed to provide support directly to the Free Syrian Army. The SSG have played a key role in requesting supplies to aid in their effort, but have now sent a request to President Obama for help in training and equipping their forces against chemical weapon attacks. The director stated, “"The Regime's history of desensitizing the international community to its gradual use of internationally banned weapons as led me to the alarming conclusion that these incidents are but a prelude to larger and more systematic deployment of chemical weapons as part of Assad's military strategy," Idris wrote. "We appreciate, as you noted today at your press conference, the critical importance that facts will play in your analysis. However, I respectfully submit to you that Assad is not taking your carefully phrased condemnations as warnings, but as loopholes, which justify his continued use of chemical weapons on a small, strategic scale."
The logistics required to supply the FSA with training and equipment to fight chemical warfare would be more cumbersome than simply sending MREs and medical aid. The use of Special Operations would be possibly required to train up the FSA. This will in turn create more logistical issues to how they can properly sustain boots on the ground and leave little foot print so that the assistance does not look like a military occupation. I think it would be a fair assessment that the President will not send over troops but will possibly send equipment to fight the chemical warfare.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/01/us_delivers_first_aid_shipment_to_free_syrian_army
It will be interesting to see how much of a logistical commitment the United States will make to the Free Syrian Army. The United States does have a surplus of MOPP gear and gask masks so generating these supplies wouldn't be much of a problem. I think you're right that we won't commit troops to train how to use this gear but I think this gear would still greatly benefit the Free Syrian Army even without training.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the assertion that we should do what ever we can to support a small footprint in Syria to avoid misconceptions of military occupation. However, I think sending only equipment to fight the chemical warfare in Syria would be a step in the wrong direction. Reason being, The Free Syrian Army needs proper instruction how to use the equipment and maintain the equipment in order to effectively fight the chemical warfare.
ReplyDeleteAlong with the other commenters I agree in the aspect of how interesting it will be to see just how deeply the U.S. gets in bed with the rebel group FSA. As we all remember in the earlier days how the U.S. supplied weapons throughout the middle east in the 1980's and how those weapons indirectly reached the hands of Taliban/Al-Qaeda "freedom" fighters three decades later. We must learn from that important setback and seriously take a step back to look at the long-term consequences in aiding the FSA in such a unstable region. Also like the above commenters I believe that just simply supplying the FSA with sophisticated military equipment would lead to disastrous results as would be the same with any untrained personnel. A significant logistical/sustainment mission for the FSA from the United States would eventually, in this commenter's opinion, lead to boots on the ground. I am calling a no-go on this one.
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