The Hill: Lawmakers urge Obama not to send shoulder-fired missiles to Syria
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on President Obama not to supply shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
“We urge you to maintain your stance in opposition to sending MANPADS into Syria and also request that you strongly discourage all nations from doing so,” the 27 House lawmakers wrote in a letter to Obama this week.
Obama has long opposed sending the missiles — Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems, or MANPADS — to Syrian rebels. The fear is that the weapons could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and be used against civilian aircraft.
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Update: 27 Lawmakers Warn Obama Against Transferring MANPADS to Syrian Rebels (Breitbart).
WNU editor: I agree with this commentary .... New airliner threat: Arming Syrian jihadists with US anti-aircraft missiles (Christina Lin, Asia Times). But the U.S. has already telegraphed to everyone that this was always their "Plan B" .... U.S. Readies ‘Plan B’ to Arm Syria Rebels (WSJ). More here .... CIA ‘Plan B’ for Syria would give rebels MANPADs to 'counter Russia' - report (Reuters)