Timber Sycamore
| Timber Sycamore | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the CIA |
|
| Operational scope | Weapons sales, training of Syrian rebel forces |
| Location |
Eastern Europe, Jordan, Syria |
| Planned by | Central Intelligence Agency |
| Target | Syrian Army |
| Date | 2012–13 to present |
| Executed by |
Central Intelligence Agency United States Department of Defense Jordanian Armed Forces General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan) Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah (Saudi Arabia) Qatar State Security Secret Intelligence Service (UK) |
| Outcome | Thousands Syrian rebel fighters trained and equipped by US, UK and Arab governments in an effort to topple the Syrian government.
|
Timber Sycamore is a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency and supported by various Arab intelligence services, most notably Saudi Arabia's. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplies money, weaponry and training to rebel forces fighting in the Syrian civil war. According to US officials, the program has trained thousands of rebels. President Barack Obama secretly authorized the CIA to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013.
The program's existence was suspected after the US Federal Business Opportunities website publicly solicited contract bids to ship tons of weaponry from Eastern Europe to Taşucu, Turkey and Aqaba, Jordan. One unintended consequence of the program has been to flood the Middle East's black market with weapons including assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Timber Sycamore began in late 2012 or early 2013, and is similar to other Pentagon or CIA-run weapons routing and training programs that were established in previous decades to support foreign rebel forces. The program's principal backers are the United States and Saudi Arabia, but it is also supported by other regional Arab governments, and by the United Kingdom. While Saudi Arabia provides more money and weaponry, the United States leads training in military equipment. The program is based in Jordan, due to that country's proximity to the battlefields in Syria.
According to The New York Times, the program initially allowed US forces to train Syrian rebels in use of military equipment, but not to directly provide the equipment itself. A few months after its creation, it was amended to allow the CIA to both train and equip rebel forces.Salon.com reports that Saudi Arabia has provided billions of dollars in military equipment, and covert financing of rebel forces has also been provided by Qatar, Turkey and Jordan.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the CIA smuggled thousands of weapons and millions of ammunition rounds to Syrian rebels in 2012 before the program's launch. A classified US State Department cable signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reported that Saudi donors were a major support for Sunni militant forces globally, and some American officials worried that rebels being supported had ties to Al Qaeda.
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Wikipedia