US Paradrops 50 Tons Of Ammo To Syrian Rebels

Tyler Durden's picture

As we noted over the weekend, the US has now thrown in the towel on the ill-fated (and that’s putting it lightly) strategy of training Syrian fighters and sending them into battle only to be captured and killed by other Syrian fighters who the US also trained.

The Pentagon’s effort to recruit 5,400 properly “vetted” anti-ISIS rebels by the end of the year ended in tears when the entire world laughed until it cried after word got out that only “four or five” of these fighters were actually still around. The rest are apparently either captured, killed, lost in the desert, or fighting for someone else.

This has cost the US taxpayer somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 million over the last six months.

Because this latest program was such a public embarrassment, the Pentagon had to come up with a new idea to assist Syria’s “freedom fighters” now that they are fleeing under bombardment by the Russian air force only to be cut down by Hezbollah.

The newest plan: helicopter ammo. No, really. The US has now resorted to dropping “tons” of ammo into the middle of nowhere and hoping the “right” people find it. 

No, really.

Here’s CNN:

U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama Administration’s urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups.

 

Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced.

 

C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition.

And here’s a bit more color from GOP mouthpiece Fox News:

The ammunition originally was intended for the U.S. military’s “train and equip” mission, the official said. But that program was canceled last week. 

 

“So now we are more focused on the ‘E’ [equip] part of the T&E [train & equip],” said the official, who described equipping Syrian Arabs as the focus of the new strategy against ISIS. 

 

The Defense Department announced Friday that it was overhauling the mission to aid Syrian rebel fighters. After the program fell far short of its goals for recruiting and training Syrian fighters, the DOD said it would focus instead on providing “equipment packages and weapons to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by ISIL.” 

 

The shift also comes as Russia continues to launch airstrikes in Syria, causing tension with the U.S. amid suspicions Moscow is only trying to prop up Bashar Assad. 

 

Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, confirmed that coalition forces conducted the airdrop on Sunday. 

 

“The aircraft delivery includes small arms ammunition to resupply counter-ISIL ground forces so that they can continue operations against ISIL. All aircraft exited the drop area safely,” he said in a statement. All pallets successfully were recovered by friendly forces, a U.S. official said.

Yes, “friendly forces.”

Just let the hilarity of that sink in.

The US just paradropped 50 tons of ammo on pallets into the most dangerous place on the face of the planet with no way of ensuring that it falls into the “right” hands (it goes without saying that the term “right” is meaningless there). Meanwhile, the Russians are dropping bombs on the same extremists who are set to receive the guns the US is dropping. 

Of course if it does somehow fall into the “wrong” hands, it wouldn’t be the first time (see Mosul and recall the $500 billion worth of weapons Washington “misplaced” in Yemen) and as we said a few days ago, this is at least great news for the military-industrial complex. It means more “terrorist attacks” on U.S. “friends and allies”, and perhaps even on U.S. soil – all courtesy of the US government supplying the weapons – are imminent.

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Westcoaster
Westcoaster

Bottom line, once again we’re supporting the wrong side in this war.

robert h siddell jr
robert h siddell jr

Obama wants our allies (the Good Rebels) to use 25 tons the ammo against Russians and 25 tons against the Bad Rebels. Russia will raise us 50 tons and drop it on the heads of Good and Bad Rebels. The Union Army in 1861 had better generals than Obama; this Cluster Fluck is not going to end well for Obama and our allies (the Good Rebels; the French, Germans and Brits are being bombed with refugees and going WTF). The Russians will warn our escort fighters and C-17’s to stop aiding their enemies but if we continue this crap, they will get serious. We need protests and a Coup to end the Zionist NEOCON control of this POTUS, DoD and State Dept. before this escalates into WWIII like the Zionist want. Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. (Is17:1) The Virgin Mary said that Americans will enter into WWIII with their eyes wide open and this could be it.

NickelthroweR
NickelthroweR

I am in the wrong business. I wish I could work for the government so that I could be an incompetent goon and get rewarded for it. Where else can a person be criminally negligent to the point of committing war crimes and get good health care and retire with 90% of their income?

Sign me up.

Oh, as my first official act, I’ll drop pallets of Redbull, Viagara and chemical munitions all over Syria. Then we’ll have a real party.

kokoda
kokoda

Don’t blame the Generals – this comes from the non-military officials in the administration. The generals are just following orders – just like the Gestapo did.

I thought Russia initiated a no-fly zone in Syria – how did U.S planes air drop the munitions?

I hope Russia takes out all those against Assad – at least it would end the current horror and allow stability.

Iska Waran
Iska Waran

Our leaders are evil. What are the odds that the “small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades” also include items that can be used against Russian helicopters? Our government isn’t going to stop until we’re in a direct war with the Russians. Would it be wrong to root for the Russians?

Anonymous
Anonymous

It was asked at Rep debate about FBI and Islam training camps in the US.Pair that with the escalating double down Obama debacle in Syria and the Marxist agenda to un arm law abiding US citizens.

Kill Bill
Kill Bill

Marxism? WTH? Hillarity and Trump are not Marxists. These people arm insurgents. America went to Afghanistan and Iraq to defeat Al Queda..and now they are moderates?

What a waste of lives, time and money.

Hegemony is insane.

We are better than this.

starfcker
starfcker
AC
AC

I’ll pretend to want Assad out of power if I can have 50 tons of free ammunition.

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