Gen. Salim Idris told NPR this moring that a) he thinks the Russian plan for Syria’s chemical weapons is a “lie” and b) says the Washington Post is wrong about U.S. weapons reaching the alliance:
In his conversation with NPR, Idris said many Syrians “can’t understand why the Russians and Iranians are supporting the [Assad] regime” and why “our friends are delaying” — a reference to President Obama’s decision to hold off on any missile strikes.
Many Syrians, Idris said, are also “very frustrated and they think that our friends will leave us alone.”
The rebel commander disputed a new Washington Post report that says “the CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures.”
His fighters have not received “any weapons from our American friends,” Idris told NPR. The assistance they have received, according to Idris, has been in the form of “humanitarian aid, food and medical materials” as well as some flak jackets, light vehicles and communications equipment.
Over to you Washington Post. Maybe the paper can get a reporter in Syria to actually verify U.S. arms rather than rely on unnamed U.S. and Syrian “officials.”