U.S. and More Than 100 Other Nations Recognize Rebels as Voice of War-Torn Syria

International support grows for opposition forces working to overthrow Syrian regime

President Obama said the United States has recognized the rebel coaltion in Syria, which is seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

The announcement made Tuesday by Obama, whom critics say has not responded forcefully enough over the course of the two-year bloody Syrian conflict, gives a diplomatic boost to the anti-Assad movement. But it stops short of promising any military or financial support to the rebel forces, Reuters reports.

Support for the opposition coalition in Syria is growing. More than 100 nations at a "Friends of the Syrian People" conference in Marrakech Wednesday granted full political recognition to the rebels. The conference called on Assad to step aside and warned him against using chemical weapons, the Associated Press reports.

France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf states granted recognition to the rebel forces in Syria last month. Until now, the U.S. held out its support over concerns that the opposition was split by too many internal factions and rivalries, and Washington insisted the groups form a more united coalition, Reuters said.

Still, Obama remains uneasy about the U.S. supplying weapons to the rebels, Reuters said.

"Not everybody who's participating on the ground in fighting Assad are people who we are comfortable with," Obama said in the article. "There are some who, I think, have adopted an extremist agenda, an anti-U.S. agenda, and we are going to make clear to distinguish between those elements."

Via Reuters and the Associated Press

Is the U.S. doing too much or not enough to help the rebel forces in Syria?

[PNWest]

The last thing we need is another war in the middle east. Support the rebels but don't get involved any more than that.

[martydotcom]

Wonder if anyone in our Admin. or anyone worldwide has any idea who the rebels will be loyal to once they're take control. Will they turn to Iran, al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, The Muslim Brotherhood? We, at least, to the public's knowledge, haven't been overwhelmingly supportive either militarily or financially.

[jessejaymes]

I understand how callous I will sound but I wouldn't get involved to any degree whatsoever. Arabs have been overthrowing the current tyrant of their areas since recorded time. And replacing them with another. What "recognizing" someone does without them actually being in power ends up meaning is we start the process of giving them money for "aid". No to that.

[PNWest]

I probably should have been more clear. By supporting the rebels I mean verbal support, diplomatic support - nothing else. No troops, no weapons.

[Malitia_Man]

@PNWest

Syrian "Freedom fighters are CIA backed Al Qaeda!!!

This is where your verbal support is going to!!!

Links:
http://rt.com/news/anhar-kochneva-syrian-rebe...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/syrian-rebels-pl...

http://www.infowars.com/99-of-syrian-rebels-a...

This last one is graphic! Viewer discretion advised!

http://rt.com/news/syria-weapons-opposition-u...

In the mean while, your puppet president is sending our tax dollars to fund this!

[tomincali]

we need to stay out of it.

the gov now sees these folks as the new order or leaders,our leaders need to look and see if an uprising against them would be seen as the same way.

[Dan_Tien]

The US should stay out of it. Do you remember the outpouring of support for the "freedom loving protesters" in Egypt an Libya recently? This is likely another power grab by Islamic fundamentalists. The enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend.

[martydotcom]

I give the Egyptian people some credit. The Muslim Brotherhood was not a driving force in ousting Mubarak. When elections were held, the Brotherhood was the most organized political party hence the won a narrow victory. The blatant power grasp by Morsi had brought the people back into the streets in protest over loss of their freedom. The outcome of the Muslim Brotherhood's version of the Constitution is yet to be determined

[woodtick57]

So you think people should not have self rule just because you don't agree with who they elect to rule?

[woodtick57]

@martydotcom

When is the next election in Egypt?

[martydotcom]

@woodtick57 The next phase was to have been approval of a constitution. Morsi has hijacked that process by declaring absolute powers. That is why the people have taken to the streets.

[Dan_Tien]

@woodtick57 "Self rule" does not require US intervention.

[MRMacrum]

Diplomatic gestures should be all we get involved with. Keeping our eye on the ball here at home is more important.

[texas_cutie75]

Exactly!!

[jessejaymes]

We never learn do we? We supported Fidel Castro overthrowing Batista in Cuba. He turned on us. That was the first time I remember as a young person. Since then we have supported numerous dictators around the world in South and Central America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. All have eventually turned on us. We give them money, we give them weapons and we use them to fight proxy wars. And they turn on us. We never learn. This is none of our business. NONE.

[twinertia]

If we're not going to wade into the Middle East and divide it into new states, then it's best to monitor the situation(s) from a safe distance.

[PoliticalSpice]

u.s. should mind it's business. It should have stayed out of Iran in the 50's, Veitnam, chile, panama, grenada, iraq, nicaragua, el salvador, mexico, cuba, And should close all foreign military bases and stop interfering in every other nation unless they attack us.

[jessejaymes]

I thought the point of us spending trillions on enough nukes to wipe out the entire world twenty times over was so people would not attack us? What happened there? We won't allow other nations to tell us who to elect or how to run our country but they're supposed to do what we tell them to? Why? Because we give them money? That's never worked out yet. I agree with you. Close the foreign bases, stop interfering and anyone who attacks us turn them into powder. Simple as that.

[KyleMFb]

We are doing to much...just like we are doing to much all over the world the US shouldn't be playing policemen all over the world when we can't even take care of our problems at home

[bsking]

we have been arming those rebels through Turkey for some time now.

ambassador Stevens met with the Turkish representative the night he was killed.
... since all these people are recognizing the "rebels".. I hope they can recognize they're affiliation with al Qaeda groups.

but they won't let the American people in on that secret for sometime. nothing to see here America's just backing another pro Islamic organization to overthrow another country in the Middle East...

[woodtick57]

And you have some proof that Stevens met for an arms deal? Why would a state dept. person do that?

Turkey is a NATO member, and the Libyan involvment was a NATO operation...

[SavageMazx]

Just read saw a report that showed 29 of the rebel groups publicly support Al Qaeda....seems like a damned if we do damned if we don't. The entire Middle East and parts of Africa is a powder keg with radical Islam as the match....it's going to be interesting to see where this ends up. Wait isn't Syria Sunni? Iran is Shiite. That will make for interesting neighbors....

[VeryLameduck]

Dumb. They're mostly aided by Al Qaeda or are members of it. I think we should let them fight it out unless chemical weapons are used, then it's the UN and not the US who should get involved.

[Denizen_Kate]

I'd be content if we stayed out of that part of the world entirely. Too many warlords, why choose some and not others to favor? It won't change anything over there. The tribes in that part of the world have been killing each other since the dawn of history, and nothing the U.S. does will ever change that.

[gregorytoye]

Look we really need to focus are minds on are own issues are country is alot more important that syria or any other country right now and to be honost every country in this world has had civil war and uprising hell everytime i look at my belt buckle im reminded of the grwat south land and are rebel movement against america and england didnt get invovled although they wanted to the didnt and we shouldnt invovle are nation i this nations business if i hear someone argueing in a house down the street im not going to call the cops nope not my fight jot my problem these people need to stand up for themself

[Sgt_hatton12]

I feel that we need to put more of our focus on what we have going on here in our own country. Why should we support other countries in assisting them to overthrow their government or leaders? Who will have the testicular fortitude to assist us if we were to all of a sudden have a national governmental take over? No one! We are hated by so many countries already over in the middle eastern countries that we should pull out from there as a whole and focus on fixing our economy and working on pulling jobs back into America and focus on being the best nation in the world to live in and be a part of under God. Also focus more on going back to where which we as a nation was founded on by our four fathers.

[Sharpshooter]

"Friends of the Syrian People"...

Looks like some people on the planet have recognized the Universally Nonproductive nest of spies in New York as ineffective and started their own organization.

[shareen12]

Don't know enough about syria