Hagel: US rethinking opposition to arming rebel forces in Syria

The Obama administration is rethinking its opposition to
providing arms to the Syrian rebels, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.

Hagel said no decisions have been made, but confirmed
reports that the administration is considering taking the new step of arming Syrian
rebels in the wake of the possible use of chemical weapons by the forces of Syrian President Bashar
Assad.

“You look and rethink all options. It doesn’t mean you do, or
you will,” Hagel said at a joint Pentagon press conference with British Secretary
of State for Defense Philip Hammond.

President Obama said at a press conference Tuesday that
confirmation Assad’s regime crossed his “red line” would prompt him to consider a “range of options” that have not yet been used.

{mosads}Hagel emphasized Thursday that the situation is not a static
one, and would not say whether he personally supported
providing arms to the rebels.

“I’m in favor of exploring options and seeing what is the best option,” Hagel
said.

Last year, Obama rejected a proposal to provide arms to vetted
Syrian rebel groups that was backed by former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, former CIA Director David Petraeus and former Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta.

There is concern about providing arms to rebel groups because
the opposition is splintered and contains groups affiliated with al Qaeda.

The White House’s disclosure last week that it has intelligence
assessments that Assad’s forces used chemical weapons have sparked new calls
for arming rebel groups and establishing a no-fly zone.

The administration is proceeding with caution toward military steps, however, citing the problems with intelligence in the
lead-up to the 2003 Iraq war.

At Thursday’s press conference, Hammond referenced Iraq as a
reason why the British government agreed with the Obama administration that more
evidence was needed of chemical weapons use in Syria.

“U.K. public opinion remembers the evidence we were
presented with in 2003 around Iraq, which turned out to be not valid,” Hammond
said. “There is a very strong view we have to have very clear, very high quality
evidence before we make plans and act on that evidence.”