Follow U.S. Immigration and Life in the U.S.: According to a report by The New York Times on the 18th, the U.S. government is considering providing funding to certain Syrian opposition armed groups, while also offering more assistance in transportation and intelligence to exert greater pressure on the Syrian government.
The report cites U.S. government officials stating that President Obama and other Western leaders are no longer opposed to the suggestion made by countries such as Saudi Arabia to provide more advanced weapons to vetted Syrian opposition armed groups, including portable air defense systems.
The report states that intelligence officials from the "Friends of Syria" countries held a secret meeting last week in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to "better" provide new "lethal aid" to the opposition. This meeting reflects an attitude that unless the Syrian government forces suffer a "significant setback" militarily, diplomatic avenues cannot resolve the Syrian conflict.
The second round of talks for the second Geneva conference on the Syrian issue ended on the 15th without progress. The Syrian government and the opposition agreed to hold a third round of talks, but no date has been set. Obama stated last week that he would continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict, but immediate measures need to be taken to address the humanitarian situation within Syria, while also implementing some "interim measures" to exert greater pressure on the Syrian government. According to The New York Times, options under consideration do not include directly providing more advanced and heavier weapons to the Syrian opposition or conducting airstrikes against Syria.
The report states that the Central Intelligence Agency has been providing weapons and training assistance to the Syrian opposition.