Syria Feature: Obama Administration Quietly Backs Arms to Insurgents?

We have assessed, based on weeks of reports, that foreign governments and groups have been sending supplies --- including communications equipment, night-vision goggles, and bullet-proof vests --- to Syrian insurgents. We also suspect, though we cannot establish, that foreign actors are ensuring small arms get to the Free Syrian Army.

Now Josh Rogin, writing for The Cable blog of Foreign Policy magazine, gives an indication that the Obama Administration has been or is on he verge of supporting these efforts:

The Obama administration is moving to provide direct assistance to the internal opposition in Syria for the first time, marking a shift in U.S. policy toward a more aggressive plan to help oust President Bashar al-Assad.

Last week, a group of senior Obama administration officials met to finalize a package of options for aiding both the internal and external Syrian opposition, to include providing direct humanitarian and communications assistance to the Syrian opposition,

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Middle East Video: US Embassy Promotes Opposition's "Support Yemen" Campaign

Last week, opposition activists posted the video "Support Yemen --- Break the Silence" on YouTube. 

In the two-minute production, a series of men and women powerfully put out the message of a peaceful call for change, defying the repression of the regime --- "My heart beats to the tune of Yemen" --- steadily stating their demands for basic rights and asking, "Will you support us and break the silence?"

The initiative is notable in itself, but there is a diplomatic twist. The video's activists may claim, "The world is blind to Change Square," but the US Embassy in Yemen certainly is not. Yesterday it put the video on its Facebook page.

The Embassy makes no political comment but urges, "Check out this video by alumni of the MEPI LDF program." That is a reference to the Middle East Partnership Initiative, started under the George W. Bush Administration, and its Leaders for Democracy Fellowships. The annual three-month programme works with 20-25 "civic leaders", between the ages of 25 and 40, from the Middle East and North Africa.

The homepage for the programme sets out the combination of academic work and an internship in Washington: "participants gain a practical understanding of the interactions between government and civil society, while also gaining valuable knowledge, skills, and professional contacts to benefit their professional pursuits in their home countries".