They can fight as desperate secular rebels, or defect to Al Qaeda and get lots of goodies from the Obama regime.

to the FSA drives these defections.

obama should do no such thing, we do not fund or provide weapons to any of these fools. what kind of dolt are you?

...weapons to Saudi Arabia. And where does al-Nusra get weapons? Exactly, from Saudi Arabia.

And if the United States supplies weapons to ANYONE in Syria, and then down the road they turn those weapons against the U.S. or its allies, what are you going to say then? This is a Sunnni-Shia war. Those two religions will have to sort this out. This conflict doesn't involve the U.S. or its taxpayers. The American people want to stay out of Syria. Helping to protect our allies from chemical weapons and other WMD is our only concern.

Obama is doing something. And that something is driving the rebellion in Syria from the hands of just plain disaffected Sunnis to the Salafists. That's the kind of dolt I am. What kind of dolt are you?

FSA is not the dominant rebel group in Syria -- there are around fifteen or so competing groups, some much larger and better organized. Some are quietly affiliated with jihadist elements. Do not discount the very real possibility that Iran is hedging its bets and supporting both Assad and several of the rebel groups. Al Qaeda has been emerging as the dominant force thanks to arms shipments from Qatar and, quite possibly, Turkey. (Some NATO member, eh?) There's little anyone can do to resolve the situation in Syria; any U.S. involvement would probably be to the wrong factions -- remember the "mujahiddin" in Afghanistan? We armed them because we thought it was prudent to go against the Soviets. We all know what happened next. The United States simply should stay out of a region which it does not understand. The State Department has been Arabist for so long, no one can remember another way, and the current administration is incompetent. Israel will monitor the flow of weapons to Israel's most staunchest enemies, and will make sure that those shipments never take place. Israel will keep an eye on the chemical and biological weapons stocks and make sure they do not fall into the hands of groups that present a real threat to the West and the United States should just stay out of the way -- what's going on in Syria is nothing more than an internecine Arab conflict. No shortage of those.

I dont understand why everyone is upset at the lack of arms for the rebels. Does anyone see any possible rebel successor to assad that would be advantageous to Israel ? Better to allow just enough arms to reach them to keep this war going till all sides kill themselves off, and Israel looks north to a beautiful unpopulated syrian and lebanese nature preserve.

If and when they defeat Assad and Hezbollah, the Syrian Rebels will turn their weapons on Israel and the West. This is a lose/lose situation. As many say, let them kill eachother, less work for the West.

What do you think will happen to all those modern weapons when Assad is gone. Millions have lost their homes, savings and every other possession they ever had in the world, when Assad is gone and the unity of the factions end those weapons have to go somewhere. Imagine your one of these Syrians who has lost everything and a terrorist comes along and offers you $100 for the anti tank or anti aircraft missile currently in your possession are you going to be saying no because I don't want these weapons used to carry out acts of terror or will you say I don't care what you do with it as long as I get my $100? Giving weapons to rebels is like giving a loaded gun to a child and hoping he doesn't shoot somebody. Even the FSA are not some kind of pro democracy, pro peace organisation but the west tries to give them some legitimacy because they are not Al Quaida affiliated.

obama has neither vision nor any ability at strategy. most deplorably, he does not take advice from those who might be more experienced and wiser. since he took office, the middle east and the larger arab and muslim worlds have gone up in flames. syria is a direct result of obama's policies in iran, egypt and lybia. in all three countries obama's policies favoured islamists. obama's no decision policies in syria has as result a fight between shia terrorists and sunni terrorists. at this point, it seems that assad and his terror sponsors are winning. assad and the terror state of iran will emerge even more radical and more dangerous than ever before. iran will unveil its nuclear bombs and russia will rule the entire middle east. the defeat of the united states in the middle east will undermine us power worldwide. obama seems not to understand and not to care.

i agree with you that obama's policies have been a total disaster. assad is gaining on the ground. he is recapturing strategic towns on major routes, including between damascus and jordan. i wonder whether at this late date it would be possible to arm the rebels. obama waited too long. shalom.

Readers should keep in mind that the source of this report is the Guardian. The Guardian is virulently hostile to Israel and its reports are often inaccurate. Nothing the Guardian reports should be relied upon.

Warrior Personality love war killing the sight of blood and torture.Some are Sadomasochistic a gene deregulated and blow themselves up .Not the leaders and their families .So killers are drawn to the fanatical Al Nusra and extreme conventional weaponry will be needed to destroy them if they or Hezbollah Attack Israel.

Of course they are well funded, how could Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states ever run out of money as long as there is oil under their dirty feet?

I agree, Israel is best to situated to deal with the neighborhood.

Dear young lady, your message is quite clear and correct (to me) For the time being, it is still an internal/criminal problem/issue in Syria and in the rest of the islamic world. Also Israel, within it''s territory and it"s people can finish and make an end to Islamo-fascist crime, just as we and the rest of mankind, on our planet of Earth, everywhere and always. For example health, security and peace to you, your and my family.