Obama Administration Loses $500 Million Dollars In Taxpayer Money As Rebels They Trained Give U.S. Weapons And Equipment To Al Qaeda In Syria

Obama Administration Loses $500 Million Dollars In Taxpayer Money As Rebels They Trained Give U.S. Weapons And Equipment To Al Qaeda In Syria

October 12. 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama

The Obama Administration paid $500 million dollars in U.S. taxpayer money to train and arm rebels in Syria, only for them to hand over the sophisticated weaponry to an Al Qaeda terrorist affiliate. The Obama administration backing off their current failing combat plan due to this event was announced Friday, October 9, 2015. This is one of the reasons why days prior on Tuesday October 6, 2015, the Judiciary Report stated let the Russians address ISIS in Syria.

I wrote that because it could help with the migrant crisis, neutralize ISIS and for the simple reason the U.S. government is hated in the region thanks to the Bush years (i.e. war in Iraq/weapons of mass destruction), has no loyal allegiances there and does not have a firm grip on combat in the Middle East.

A week ago many read news reports regarding the U.S. government bombing a charitable Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, killing 12 medical personnel and 10 patients (with an additional 33 missing). Patients were seen “burning in their beds” from the surprise bombing. Doctors Without Borders stated they “repeatedly” gave the U.S. government their coordinates to prevent being bombed, yet this horror still happened. The U.S. government is now offering to pay victims of the bombing.

Doctors Without Borders bombing

Then there's the incident days ago where U.S. military ended up killed in a Russian bombing meant for and hitting terrorist targets. This happened despite the fact the Russian government gave the U.S. government clear advance warning to leave that particular zone that would be bombed in air strikes. The U.S. government is having serious tactical problems in the region and it is creating more problems than it is solving.

The goal of the West and moderates in the Middle East is to neutralize ISIS. What does it matter who accomplishes this. The Russian government was invited by Syrian head of state, Bashar al-Assad, as their ally and given key intel on the region. Russia is aiding them with armed forces bearing sophisticated weaponry. While I do not agree with Assad's politics, he is still the president of Syria and their nation's sovereignty, just like any other country's, should be respected.

The West could monitor events via satellite, news reports and messages from select diplomats. The Obama administration could have allowed the Russian military to handle ISIS in Syria and it would have saved the U.S. taxpayers a significant amount of money and future problems (see: terrorists now have sophisticated U.S. equipment and weaponry with which to target the West - they also know American military training methods/trade secrets).

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama

Why was it really necessary for the Obama administration to waste $500 million dollars of U.S. taxpayer money on this ill-fated venture in Syria. Do you know how much good that money could have done in America. You could have built 10,000 affordable homes for lower income families at $50,000 a piece, with special loans at favorable, fixed interest rates (and even giving subsidies to lower income buyers to help with purchasing the homes).

You could have given business grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to Americans who have solid business plans and want to start a small business. Alternatively, you could have built 200-300 new schools in America to ease overcrowding at existing learning institutions. You could have started a great drive to help feed, clothe and house the homeless and try to get them back on their feet in the workplace. You could have rebuilt areas of Detroit suffering from widespread urban decay. There’s so much you could have done with the $500 million dollars in America that would have improved the country and the lives of many.

Rebels in Syria

Instead, you’ve unwittingly armed Al Qaeda, a terrorist group that hates the West and is trying to destroy us. You cannot have these unnecessary Middle East excursions, especially ones that routinely go wrong, then cut money in America on things the American people need. That is gross mismanagement and very poor prioritizing.

I don’t even understand why, after the Bush years and all the civilian casualties it created in the Middle East, the U.S. government thought for a split second there is no bitter feelings among Arabs in the region, who saw their friends and families (who weren’t terrorists) killed in bombings. Why did the U.S. government think they could trust the rebels after the war in Iraq, military maneuvers/combat in Afghanistan and Pakistan during Bush's time in office, that yielded a combined civilian casualty rate that is very high, from U.S. military bombings that sometimes hit schools and villages, killing many children.

Rebels in Syria

The U.S. government needs to face facts on this matter and not army anymore rebels. The Arabs in the Middle East and some in the West have America off and are angry over the 1,000,000 plus casualties from U.S. combat (Bush) in the region and will not show the United States any loyalty due to it. If someone killed off over 1,000,000 Americans in bombings would you show them any loyalty? Of course not. So why are you expecting that from them and endangering western lives in arming rebels (previously, the CIA armed and trained a rebel and his cohorts - you now know them as Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda).

For a peaceful existence, the U.S. government needs to focus on making America better and leave the Middle East excursions alone, lest something worse happens. The government needs to choose its battles more carefully. It’s not everything the government should get involved in.

STORY SOURCE

U.S.-trained fighters in Syria gave equipment to al-Qaeda affiliate

American-trained Syrian fighters gave at least a quarter of their U.S.-provided equipment to al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria early this week, the U.S. Central Command said late Friday. In a statement correcting earlier assertions that reports of the turnover were a “lie” and a militant propaganda ploy, the command said it was subsequently notified that the Syrian unit had “surrendered” some of its equipment — including six pickup trucks and a portion of its ammunition — to Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s arm in Syria.

The acknowledgment is the latest discouraging report regarding the $500 million train-and-equip program, which Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, head of Central Command, said last week had only “four or five” trained Syrian fighters active in Syria. Since then, the military has said approximately 70 fighters have been added...

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