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U.S. To Arm Syrian Rebels, Assad Regime Denies “Lies”

Helene Imperiale |
June 14, 2013 | 10:20 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 

Flickr/Creative Commons
Flickr/Creative Commons

The White House has announced that it will give military aid to the Syrian rebels. Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication, did not elaborate on the type of aid the Syrian rebels would be receiving but did state it would be a "different in scope and scale to what we have provided before.”

According to USA Today, “U.S. intelligence has vetted the rebel forces to determine who should get the arms,” stated Christopher Harmer, from the Institute for the Study of War.

The Guardian has reported on UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s newest statements. "There is credible evidence of multiple attacks using chemical weapons in Syria, including the use of the abhorrent agent sarin." According to Cameron,Porton Down, Britain's weapons research centre, illustrated thatsarin was used by regime forces at Utaybah on 19 March and at Sheikh Maqsood on 13 April.” However, Cameron has stated that Britain “has taken ‘no decision’ to arm the rebels.”

ALSO SEE: The Obama Administration Confirms Chemical Weapons Used In Syria

However, Russia has dismissed the accusations. Yuri Ushakov, a top advisor to President Vladimir Putin, stated, "I will say frankly that what was presented to us by the Americans does not look convincing. It would be hard even to call them facts."

In response to the accusations, Syria said that the U.S. statements are “full of lies.” The Syrian foreign ministry stated that the United States "relied on fabricated information," allowing them to arm the rebels. 

The Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, stated that Syria should let the United Nations "investigate all reports of chemical weapons use."

 

Reach Executive Producer Helene Imperiale here. Follow her here.



 

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