Syrian militants are funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar

In a latest bid to oust Syrian President Assad on the Libyan model, US has initiated a plan backed by Saudi’s and Qatar to put Free Syrian Army militants payroll, this step will encourage defections within the Syrian military. 

Qatar and Saudi Arabia plans to pay future military deserters in dollars and Euros as a counter to the greatly devalued Syrian pound Damascus uses to pay the military.

The Guardian Riyadh reported that Qatar and Saudi Arabia began supplying the Free Syrian Army (FSA) with Kalashnikov assault rifles, anti-tank missiles and RPG in mid-May. 

Russia’s Interfax news agency also reported Saturday that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been paying salaries to the Syrian rebels for several months now . 

Syrian Armed with US support vis Saudi, Qatar and Turkey

This information was leaked to journalists by an unspecified Arab diplomat on condition of anonymity, who said that,  “The money has been paid for several months now in accordance with an April 2 agreement made by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, which hosts some units of the Free Syrian Army, ensures material and technical support,”.

Riyadh has just held consultations on the issue with the US and some Arab countries, the Guardian reports. America’s side was represented at the meeting by US Senator Joe Lieberman, a passionate proponent of the Syrian opposition. 

The issue of FSA salaries was discussed during Lieberman’s visit to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Lieberman’s spokesman Whitney Phillips stressed that the senator “specifically called for the US to work with our partners to provide the armed Syrian opposition with weapons, training, tactical intelligence, secure communications and other forms of support to change the military balance of power inside Syria”.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced this week, "We made a decision not to provide lethal assistance at this point. I know others have made their own decisions,”.

Turkey, the key country in the arms supply project, has been hesitant about getting involved in distributing arms from its territory and demanded diplomatic screening from the US and Arab states. Finally, Ankara agreed to provide ammunition transfer points for firearms coming from Qatari and Saudi Arabian military supply depots. 

A Defecting Syrian Pilots lands in Jordon

Ankara also agreed on establishing a Syrian opposition command center in Istanbul to coordinate arms supplies to Syria and maintain contact with scattered opposition groups. Twenty two people are currently manning the center, most of them Syrian citizens. 

The Guardian has also named one of the Syrian opposition arms delivery centers. It is operating in Reyhanl, a town in Hatay province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, practically on the border with Syria where Syrian opposition emissaries are paying for arms and ammunition in cash, the newspaper reports. 

Direct US role in Syrian Conflict 

Washington has been playing a very active part in efforts to topple the Syrian regime, though withstanding from taking the lead in widely discussed possible intervention of Syria, probably because of upcoming presidential elections. 

The New York Times reported on Thursday that CIA operatives are operating on the Syria-Turkey border, heading the arms distribution process and collecting intelligence about various Syrian opposition groups. 

A Syrian rebels posing with Arms

The Guardian also revealed that a couple of US intelligence officers were operating in the Syrian city of Homs throughout winter in an attempt to organize scattered rebel groups and put them under a unified command. The success of their operation remains doubtful, as the Syrian rebels were practically defeated by May, which may explain why the Arab states opted for direct payments to Syrian militants and defectors. 

The most active anti-Assad states – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – were all onetime allies of Damascus. However, the ongoing uprising in Syria has served to spoil their relations with the Assad regime as it was planned to vindicate and save the interests of Israel and let down the Iran and Hezbollah influence in the region.

The violence in Syria has continued to escalate over the last 16 months. Syrian regular army and police are now confronting what they call foreign-sponsored Sunni Muslim militants. 

According to the UN, the total number of causalities on all sides has surpassed 12,000 people, with about 230,000 becoming refugees as a result of the conflict. The next three to six months are going to be crucial for Syria, an unnamed intelligence source shared with The Guardian. The defeat of the Assad regime might create a power vacuum in Syria, vastly increasing terrorist activity throughout the country.