http://www.popularresistance.org/obama-waives-ban-on-arming-terrorists-to-allow-aid-to-syrian-opposition/
Obama Waives Ban on Arming Terrorists to Allow Aid to Syrian Opposition
Educate! Wars and Militarism
By Joel Gehrke, washingtonexaminer.com
September 19th, 2013
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President Obama waived a provision of federal law designed to prevent the
supply of arms to terrorist groups to clear the way for the U.S. to
provide military assistance to vetted opposition groups fighting Syrian
dictator Bashar Assad.
Some elements of the Syrian opposition are associated with radical Islamic
terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, which was responsible for the Sept.
11 attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., in 2001.
Assads regime is backed by Iran and Hezbollah.
The president, citing his authority under the Arms Export Control Act,
announced today that he would waive the prohibitions in sections 40 and
40A of the AECA related to such a transaction.
Those two sections prohibit sending weaponry to countries described in
section 40(d): The prohibitions contained in this section apply with
respect to a country if the Secretary of State determines that the
government of that country has repeatedly provided support for acts of
international terrorism, Congress stated in the Arms Control Export Act.
For purposes of this subsection, such acts shall include all activities
that the Secretary determines willfully aid or abet the international
proliferation of nuclear explosive devices to individuals or groups or
willfully aid or abet an individual or groups in acquiring unsafeguarded
special nuclear material, the law continues.
The law allows the president to waive those prohibitions if he determines
that the transaction is essential to the national security interests of
the United States.
Under section 40(g) of the AECA, the Obama team must also provide Congress
at least 15 days before turning over the weapons the name of any
country involved in the proposed transaction, the identity of any
recipient of the items to be provided pursuant to the proposed
transaction, and the anticipated use of those items, along with a list of
the weaponry to be provided, when they will be delivered, and why the
transfer is key to American security interests.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., endorsed providing
military assistance to the Syrian opposition during an appearance on CBS
Face the Nation Sunday.
Our intelligence agencies, I think, have a very good handle on who to
support and who not to support, Corker said. And theres going to be
mistakes. We understand some people are going to get arms that should not
be getting arms. But we still should be doing everything we can to support
the free Syrian opposition.
National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden issued the following
statement concerning the presidents actions with regard to waiving
certain controls on military aid in the Syrian crisis:
This action will allow the U.S. Government to provide or license, where
appropriate, certain non-lethal assistance inside or related to Syria.
This includes: 1) chemical weapons-related personal protective equipment
to international organizations, including the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, for the conduct of their operations; 2)
chemical weapons-related life-saving assistance for organizations
implementing Department of State or U.S. Agency for International
Development programs to strengthen local Syrian health care providers
ability to prepare for and respond to any use of chemical weapons; and 3)
defensive chemical weapons-related training and personal protective
equipment to select vetted members of the Syrian opposition, including the
Supreme Military Council, to protect against the use of chemical weapons.
This action is part of longstanding and ongoing efforts to provide
life-saving chemical weapons-related assistance to people in need in
Syria.
Related Posts:
The Bill Congress Should Pass Instead Of War September 7, 2013
UN Warns Against Military Strike Against Syria September 4, 2013
The Effective Path To Controlling Chemical Weapons Is Not War
September 5, 2013
Syria Asks UN To Immediately Investigate 3 New Chemical Attacks
August 29, 2013
While US Demands Syria Disarm, CIA Arms Rebels September 13, 2013
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