Obama Recognizes Syrian Rebels As Legitimate

This situation is quite similar to what Obama did in Egypt in his first term, in which he recognized the Muslim Brotherhood. Now he is recognizing the Syrian rebellion as being represented by a legitimate group, which will only render confidence to the jihadists. And although he says he will not give weapons to jihadists (although eventually I believe that this will be the case), the morale booster he is giving, will nonetheless be granted to Islamic fundamentalists, since the revolution, no matter how you look at it, is an Islamic one.

From Global Post:

President Barack Obama approved on Wednesday of the Syrian opposition uniting under one coalition, but stopped short of recognizing them.

Speaking at his first press conference since re-election, Obama said, “I’m encouraged to see that the Syrian opposition created an umbrella group that may have more cohesion than they’ve had in the past,” according to The Washington Post.

He added, “We consider them a legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people. We’re not yet prepared to recognize them as some sort of government in exile, but we do think that it is a broad-based representative group.”

“One of the questions that we’re going to continue to press is, making sure that that opposition is committed to a democratic Syria, an inclusive Syria, a moderate Syria,” said Obama.

In response to a question about arming the rebels, Obama said, “One of the things that we have to be on guard about, particularly when we start talking about arming opposition figures, is that we’re not indirectly putting arms in the hands of folks who would do Americans harm, or do Israelis harm, or otherwise engage in — in actions that are detrimental to our national security.”

The US pledged $30 million in humanitarian aid to the Syrian rebels on Wednesday.

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Posted by Theodore Shoebat

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