US second in line to lead al-Qaeda forces in Syria

Oct 30, 2013, Press TV

George Malbrunot, a journalist for French newspaper Le Figaro, has investigated the ways in which arms are being delivered to the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Jordan’s intelligence services.

According to Le Figaro, the weapons used by the militants in Syria are initially purchased by Saudi Arabia from black markets in Ukraine and Bulgaria. The weapons, which include Israeli missiles, are then transferred to a number of cells on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, the report said.

These cells are directly linked to a command center in Jordan, which is headed by Salman bin-Sultan — the brother of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief. However, in his absence, this command center is led by a CIA agent, according to the newspaper.

Representatives from the UK, France, Italy, Qatar, Turkey and Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri are also present in this command room.

Thanks to the advanced communication equipment provided by the CIA, the report added, the opposition groups in Syria are now easily communicating with CIA centers in neighboring countries.

Malbrunot also said that the CIA employs drones up to 150 kilometers into Syria to escort the transfer of weapons. He has found that in the first half of 2013, the CIA has transferred 600 tons of arms into Syria.

Under pressure from the Qatari and Saudi Arabian governments and the tacit approval of the US, some of the weapons are given to the Salafi groups in Syria, the report added,

American officials are concerned that the militants are rapidly losing ground in Syria’s conflict. So they began delivering weapons to foreign-backed militants in the country in September, a major escalation of the US role in stirring the crisis.

The CIA has also expanded covert operations to train the militants who have been fighting the Syrian Army for the past two and a half years.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have lost their lives and a total of 7.8 million others displaced due to the violence. A very large number of the militants operating inside the country are also foreign nationals.