Obama waives ban on arming terrorists to allow aid to Syrian opposition

If this for real, it sure indicates that Obama definitely wants the civil war in Syria to continue.

Apparently the chemical weapons issues are 2nd fiddle.

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. Assad's 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."
Sign Up for the Politics Today newsletter!

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.

Has this been 'confirmed' ?


Obama waives ban on arming terrorists to allow aid to Syrian opposition

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."

Huh ?

If this is true, then I guess there is literally no law passed that the President cannot simply wave away at personal whim and do what he wants anyway.

I wonder...how long before those he is "Commander and Chief" of, just tell him to get stuffed on dying for his causes? This isn't even representing the nation at this point, in some very key ways. He's literally putting himself above laws enacted for damned good reasons. To prevent precisely this thing from happening, in fact.

I hope people don't start going around figuring they can just waiver themselves out of the laws of daily life. Only the President can reinvent what legal means as he goes. Us mortal folk would lose everything and be put in a concrete box for years for trying such things. Must be nice...to be King.

I don't know so much about politics,but to me it seems tat the world is fair game to your current admin.If Obama/whoever becomes president after him,decides there is a threat to the safety of the US in any given country..it sounds like the whole world ,any country,could potentially be considered a threat to your admin-and a potential target for interference.If there is no threat,one would/could be manufactured I am sure.Out of control.

reply to post by Raxoxane


You're right and what scares me..and I mean, really does scare me? The Government as it stands right now, seems to truly believe it's grown so vast and powerful, it has transcended history itself and become above such concerns like the world, in cooperation, doing something about it.



I don't think this turns out well for my nation in the end. It never has when this pattern has appeared before in history. Not once has it gone well in the long term.

Isn't this like the fourth time we have announced arming/training/aiding the rebels?:

December 9th, 2012
05:55 PM ET
Sources: U.S. helping underwrite Syrian rebel training on securing chemical weapons
security.blogs.cnn.com...

CIA to arm, train Syrian rebels: US Congressional panels
July 23, 2013 ⋅ 12:33 pm
www.yalibnan.com...

WaPo: Syrian rebels now getting CIA arms
posted at 8:01 am on September 12, 2013 by Ed Morrissey
hotair.com...

reply to post by xuenchen


A snap of the fingers......

"Poof"

A new "tax" here in disguise of a bill, or new war without Congressional approval.

Seems this President never really cared about what America thinks and what the World views him as.

I think this goes beyond Cloward–Piven and right to this.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

I know,and that brings to mind the old adage "The bigger they are the harder they fall"

You know for me personally,this is a dilemma-i feel,after the Bush admin and most especially this current one,that the American admin needs a slapdown,so hard it reminds of the Yucatan peninsula a few million years ago.But not the average citizen,I have+had before, dear and highly valued American friends,fine fine people.There are many Americans on this site whom I like and respect a great deal,yourself included.

I can make the distinction between American CITIZENS and the American ADMIN-but millions upon millions cannot,simply because they have never met an American,never mind a fine person who happens to be American.To them your admin is YOU.And that is what worries me-because the average American,especially those travelling abroad,do not have armed bodyguard,armoured vehicles.Your admin is storing up a tremendous amount amount of seething hatred for AMERICANS-to a very large number of people on this planet Ameican Joe/Jill Average is indistinguishable and inseperable from their admin.
There-in lies a grave misconception-which Americans will have to address.Maybe the time has come for groups of American citizens to club together+start paying for ad space in foreign newspapers to make it clear how many of you do not condone the actions of your admin+clarify that you are hostages to some-one else's fortune,idk..but if a massive thing falls,it sometimes falls with catastrophic consequences-and crushes many innocent bystanders.

reply to post by Raxoxane


I hope people listen to what you're saying and think hard about it. Most won't....but they should. You come from a country that has been where we're headed. I mean, at one time, a major regional power and capable of world power status if a little thing like international condemnation from official circles hadn't made that impossible beyond a certain level.

Then... Much like I think we're in for at some point ... It all changed, eh? So fast, I got the impression at the time, it would be fair to compare it to the Soviet fall in Eastern Europe. I try not to think too much about what happens in South Africa now ..and just hope, a few years from now, those won't be the words people use to describe America as well, and for many of the same reasons.

Nothing is ever learned from, is it? Leaders just keep repeating the same errors over and over and over because the elusive goals they can never made work are too tempting not to try for. Regular people would be thrilled if none ever did again. This dominance stuff was downright fun when the U.S. held that position with little or no fight required to do that. It's ...obscene...on the trailing edge of our period for Greatness, while weak leaders fight over the shrinking scraps from what used to be.

Ugh.... The worst thing, always? Under our systems of Government ...both our nations, I believe, our own people do as much to ask for this to happen by those freely chosen to lead as any "circumstance" to blame it all on.

reply to post by xuenchen


And to think Obama actually used the 'Humanitarian card' when talking about the deaths in the Syrian conflict...and then sends arms to enable even MORE deaths to occur and for the conflict to last for longer and kill more people than it ever would have done, if he hadn't poked his imperialist nose in.

Humanitarian my arse.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


At the rate and direction America is going, we will be the new Axis of Evil when WWIII breaks out... What's worse is that with our current military it's going to take the combined might of just about every other nation in the world to slap us down.

reply to post by xuenchen


Oh Im sure most of the rebels must be good guys, right?.... Nope. A new analysis came out the other day.

www.nzherald.co.nz...

Nearly half the rebel fighters in Syria are aligned to jihadist or hardline Islamist groups, according to an analysis of factions in the country's civil war.

The study by IHS Jane's, a defence consultancy, estimates there are around 10,000 jihadists - who would include foreign fighters - fighting for powerful factions linked to al-Qaeda.

Another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline Islamists who share much of the outlook of the jihadists, but are focused on the Syrian war rather than a wider struggle. There are also at least a further 30,000 moderates belonging to groups that have an Islamic character, meaning only a small minority of the rebels are linked to secular or purely nationalist groups.

Wrabbit2000
You're right and what scares me..and I mean, really does scare me? The Government as it stands right now, seems to truly believe it's grown so vast and powerful, it has transcended history itself and become above such concerns like the world, in cooperation, doing something about it.

I don't think this turns out well for my nation in the end. It never has when this pattern has appeared before in history. Not once has it gone well in the long term.

In the end, it will turn out ok because no school yard bully goes unchallenged forever. Either they are removed completely from the school or they have their butt handed to them.

I believe that biologicals will be the anti-bully weapon of choice. It's unstoppable, hard to trace and could literally shut down this country in a week.

Krazysh0t
At the rate and direction America is going, we will be the new Axis of Evil when WWIII breaks out... What's worse is that with our current military it's going to take the combined might of just about every other nation in the world to slap us down.

We became the axis-of-evil in 1947 with the creation of the CIA and the NSC. It did not take long for this group to up-end the world, with one of their first acts being the overthrow of the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran in '52.

xuenchen
If this for real, it sure indicates that Obama definitely wants the civil war in Syria to continue.

Since it means we'd be arming Al Qaeda and his buddies in the Muslim Brotherhood ...
I have no doubt that it's real. Obama just LUVs the Muslim Brotherhood.

So let me get this straight... Obama wants to GIVE THEM automatic guns and maybe RPG'S, BUT
he wants to TAKE OUR guns? Give guns to the enemy and disarm his own people? This guys quacked
TLDR

TAKES YOUR GUNS, GIVES THEM GUNS. This guys a traitor.

reply to post by xuenchen


I'm confused, if the rebels they want to arm are "vetted" then why lift the ban?

Lifting this ban is effectively supporting terrorists, right? If so, doesn't that mean this Govt is finally admitting its criminal? Can't justice now be brought to them?

F Washington DC!

starfoxxx
So let me get this straight... Obama wants to GIVE THEM automatic guns and maybe RPG'S, BUT
he wants to TAKE OUR guns? Give guns to the enemy and disarm his own people? This guys quacked
TLDR

TAKES YOUR GUNS, GIVES THEM GUNS. This guys a traitor.

His reason for giving them guns (violent overthrow of government) is exactly why he wants to take ours.

The anti-gun agenda has never been about reducing violent crime. History shows that a tyrannical government is never allowed to thrive in a nation comprised of an armed citizenry.

Krazysh0t
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

At the rate and direction America is going, we will be the new Axis of Evil when WWIII breaks out... What's worse is that with our current military it's going to take the combined might of just about every other nation in the world to slap us down.

Roxanne, can I assume you're English or European? You know there is hardly a country or people in the world who have not received help from the US at one time or another. Even our enemies have received help when they needed it. You don't think those people who received life giving food and water etc. Understand that we are very good people.

I have been in the countryside of most of the European countries and the people understand and remember how good the Americans are and are still thankful to this day for our help. The only people who hate us are the radical nations who are either communist or muslim. And even then it is where the people are from that matters. I have worked with large groups of Muslims helping train our military. These muslims were people just like you and me and understood that their Koran told them to live in peace and never kill women and children. They understood the radicals twisted the Koran to meet their sick agendas. These muslims were from Albania, Serbia, and other countries.

Americans are wonderful, fantastic people with big hearts. We help more people around the world less fortunate than we are than any other people on earth. Think about that. Most of us don't have much, we struggle with all the same things others around the world do. But we still give money, our time etc to help others both here and around the world. We are not perfect, far from it. But we are not the bad guys I so often see portrayed here on ATS. Our government officials aren't these big bad wolves they are made out to be either.

Despite all the negative talk i am proud to be American and would not want to live anywhere else. I invite those Americans who are unhappy to go and try some other countries and see if they like them better. I know they will find we have more freedom and liberty and protections here than anywhere else and will want to return.

The grass turns out not to be greener after all.

The Bot

reply to post by howmuch4another


Strange how it works sometimes.

I think the Progressive / Obama 'team' sent out the message to keep quiet on this one.

The 2014 elections are at stake for Democrats.

IMO, they support Obama 100%, that's we are seeing the miracle of a vast majority of Progressive opinion silent.