White House official assures arms, training of Syrian opposition to go to right forces

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (KUNA) -- U.S. officials and their allies in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) will be able to identify members of the moderate Syrian opposition so that arms and training go to the right forces, White House deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said on Thursday.
"We have been working with these guys for the last two-and-a-half years," Blinken said in an MSNBC "Morning Joe" interview. "We have built up a knowledge base. We have a much better idea of who they are, what they are willing to do. And now that we have other countries coming in ... who also have tremendous knowledge, we will be able to effectively vet them, identify them, make sure we are giving arms and training to the right people who want in on the fight." These are people who want to fight for their families, towns and communities, he said, and they just need help with training, equipping and advising. "If we do that, we believe they will fight, and fight effectively," he added.
The United States will not "repeat the last decade," Blinken said. "We are not going to send American ground troops to fight a war on the ground in Iraq or in Syria. What we are about is making sure that if we have partners on the ground, we can train them, we can equip them, we can advise them, and we can use air support." There may be cases where American advisers go with some of the forces on the ground but stay away from the fight, he said. "They (Americans) are not taking the fight to the enemy," he said. "They are not firing. They are not being fired on. They are providing tactical advice. Maybe they are helping to call in some air power." That is the kind of thing that advisers do, and is what Americans are doing in places such as Yemen, and will eventually be doing in Afghanistan, Blinken said.
Blinken conceded that any Americans serving in Iraq are at risk, including pilots, and soldiers at the embassy and airport who are there to protect other U.S. forces.
"But there is a big fundamental difference between an advising role and a combat role where Americans are on the ground leading the fight," he said. "That is not going to happen. That is not part of this campaign." (end) rm.mt