The Gathering Storm in Syria

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

However, what the Syrian Rebels need is something to counter Assad's air power.

This is one of the main inconsistencies I've noticed when looking through different articles. Some say that Assad's air force is a major factor and other suggest that the air force is a really only a small part and it is the soldiers on the ground that is causing the largest amount of damage.

With a no-fly zone and bombing of the Syrian Air Force bases pretty much off the table, that leaves giving the rebels shoulder fired SAMs. These are well capable of bringing down a civilian jet, in whatever country they are used. Hmmm. You really want to give those to people who are friends with Al Q?

What could go wrong?

However, I was a little puzzled by this (in PH45's article):

Israel? or the Saudis and "friendly" Arab states? How so? Why would any of them like more weapons drifting around in Syria?

I think Europe, Turkey, and the other Arab states, namely Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are really pushing for the US to get involved.