In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria. Leaked diplomatic cables reported that the US government had been covertly funding Syrian opposition groups since 2006, mainly the London-based Movement for Justice and Development in Syria and an associated satellite TV channel Barada TV. [42] Special Activities Division teams were said to have been deployed to Syria during the uprising to ascertain rebel groups, leadership and potential supply routes. [43] [44] Rebels of the Army of Glory launch a US-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile at government forces during the 2017 Hama offensive. Austin Carson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Carson holds a PhD in Political Science from The Ohio State University. Gould Keil, Jennifer (10 November 2007). "Lawyer scolded for linking Arar to Al Qaeda". Toronto Star. For experts in logistics and supply chain management, the entire operation was an unmitigated disaster. Supply chains function best when they are transparent and streamlined; Timber Sycamore's was anything but. The indiscriminate arming of rebel groups led not to a strategic, coordinated opposition but to a fragmented patchwork of militias, each with their own local agendas, alliances, and often, conflicting goals. Rather than concentrating firepower and focus, this scattergun approach to arms distribution diluted the effectiveness of the rebel forces. Blum, William. Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1995. ISBN 1-56751-052-3

First of all, it should be pointed out that the French President is supposed to be the one who sponsors, as a last resort, a clandestine operation. However, he enjoys legal impunity in the exercise of his mandate, which is not the case for any of his ministers. During the Hollande presidency, we witnessed a blatant tendency for the French state to support and protect its Gulf allies. This policy materialized not only in Fabius’ hard line against Iran in the nuclear deal negotiations, but also, and much more seriously, in the shifty operations that aimed to shore up the disastrous interventions of the Saudis and their partners in Yemen and in Syria. Walcott, John (19 July 2017). "Trump ends CIA arms support for anti-Assad Syria rebels: U.S. officials". Reuters . https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-syria-idUSKBN1A42KC . Retrieved 20 July 2017. Mark Mazzetti, Adam Goldman, Michael S. Schmidt (2 August 2017). "Behind the Sudden Death of a Billion Secret C.I.A. War in Syria" . https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/middleeast/cia-syria-rebel-arm-train-trump.html . Retrieved 28 August 2017. In summary, Timber Sycamore represents a cautionary tale about the perils of sidelining transparency and accountability in the labyrinth of covert foreign operations. Its shrouded nature raises poignant questions about how such endeavors can be reconciled with the democratic values that the United States professes to uphold. Billions of dollars’ worth of arms against Syria”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Voltaire Network, 18 July 2017.Chivers, C. J.; Schmitt, Eric (25 February 2013). "Saudis Step Up Help for Rebels in Syria With Croatian Arms" . https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/world/middleeast/in-shift-saudis-are-said-to-arm-rebels-in-syria.html . Retrieved 18 December 2016. To some analysts, particularly those observing from the outside, this moment marked the American retreat in the face of Russian geopolitical assertiveness. Newspapers and think-tank reports buzzed with commentaries about the United States' supposed "surrender" to Russian strategy, framing it as a geopolitical failure and a signal of waning American influence in the Middle East. This narrative was potent, partly because it dovetailed with the broader discourse about Russia reasserting itself on the global stage at America’s expense. ISIS officially formed the following year by way of combining various rebel groups and elements of Al Qaeda: MacAskill, Ewen (10 November 2008). "US forces staged more than a dozen foreign raids against al-Qaida: Former CIA official lifts lid on secret anti-terror operations". The Guardian. Sands, Phil; Maayeh, Suha (7 August 2016). "Death of a Syrian arms salesman". The National . http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/20160808/death-of-a-syrian-arms-salesman . Retrieved 21 September 2016.

Deliberations over what the United States ought to do militarily in Syria began as early as 2012. The first rebels trained, funded, and armed by the CIA — a small “50-man cell” of fighters — were reported to have arrived in the fall of 2013, a few months after Obama gave the green light. Since then, America’s CIA covert operation against the Syrian regime, known as Timber Sycamore, has grown substantially. In 2014, reports suggested that the United States was “ ramping up” its support to the rebels through the provision of TOW anti-tank guided missiles. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that America wasn’t acting alone. Timber Sycamore had become a joint effort with Saudi Arabia: The Saudis provided cash and arms, while the Americans provided training. In a remarkably candid 2014 speech at Harvard, then Vice President Joe Biden admitted and emphasized Jordan’s role among “our allies” in funding and supporting the rise of ISIS. The weaponry supply chain within Timber Sycamore was a masterclass in complexity and dysfunction, akin to a dangerous ballet of arms distribution with no conductor. Far from being a centralized operation, the initiative funneled a diverse range of armaments to Syrian rebels. This arsenal was not merely diverse but astonishingly eclectic, spanning Eastern European Kalashnikovs, American-manufactured TOW anti-tank missiles, and a jumble of grenades, small arms, and other munitions sourced from a myriad of global suppliers.

Covertly Arming An Al Qaeda-Dominated Insurgency

The CIA used Syria as an illicit base of operations to torture so-called " ghost detainees", as part of a program known as extraordinary rendition. This program was established in the mid-1990s and expanded in the 2000s. From this such "for modernization" versus "against modernization""conflict environment" that I provide above, can we, now and thereby, better understand such terrorism activities as September 11, 2001 (a foreign "anti-modernization" event?) and January 6, 2021 (a domestic "anti-modernization" event?)?

Adam Withnall (3 September 2013). "Syria crisis: First CIA-trained rebel unit about to join fighting against Assad regime, says President Obama". The Independent. London . Retrieved 13 October 2013. Before anyone goes into "this is a crazy conspiracy theory" mode, these events are indeed true and did occur in sequence. The release of "Operation Timber Sycamore" was in 2017, gained some media attention- from credible sources- but fizzled away probably because Trump said something, and most are unaware of it even now.

Journals

a b Little, Douglas (Winter 1990). "Cold War and Covert Action: The United States and Syria, 1945–1958". Middle East Journal. 44 (1): 51–75. JSTOR 4328056. US led- Syria Train and Equip program continues to arm, train, and support the SDF with airstrikes. We will explore the program's initial motivations, the geopolitical pressures that birthed it, and the discord between its lofty ambitions and the harsh realities on the ground. Beyond that, this analysis will lay bare the long-term repercussions of such a deeply flawed initiative, aiming to provide actionable insights that may prevent similar calamities in future covert operations.

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. [15] A classified U.S. 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. [14] Nobody believes in it. You’re like, ‘F–k this.’ Everyone on the ground knows they are jihadis. No one on the ground believes in this mission or this effort, and they know they are just training the next generation of jihadis, so they are sabotaging it by saying, ‘F–k it, who cares?’ This comprehensive analysis aims to methodically unravel the complex threads of Timber Sycamore. The intent is not merely to chronicle its numerous pitfalls but to delve into the very origins of its conceptual framework. By doing so, this investigation illuminates the operational missteps and the systemic failures that not only plagued this specific program but also serve as indicative markers for flaws that could undermine U.S. interventions elsewhere. The officials said that the decision was made prior to Trump's participation in the G-20 summit and July 7 meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Several officials characterized the decision as a "major concession" to Russia, with one remarking: "Putin won in Syria." [7] However, another official stated that ending the program was not a major concession due to Assad's recent victories in the Syrian Civil War, but rather "a signal to Putin that the administration wants to improve ties to Russia." [25] Some members of the Obama administration reportedly had wished to scrap the program because some rebels armed and trained by the program had joined ISIL and related groups. [25] Ali Watkins (21 July 2017). "Top general confirms end to secret U.S. program in Syria". Politico . http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/21/tony-thomas-syria-secret-program-cia-240818 . Retrieved 20 July 2017.Hersh, Seymour (2016-01-07). "Military to Military". London Review of Books . http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n01/seymour-m-hersh/military-to-military . Retrieved 2017-07-20. The Secretary of US Air Force Heather Wilson has announced they will demonstrate #SpaceWeapon as deterrence in response to India's ASAT test #MissionShakti sharing for the first time American #SpaceWar plans known as #OlympicDefender with #FiveEyes allies https://t.co/bh7i19BtI3 A notorious Western analyst Jeffrey Sachs says that the US refuses to tell the truth. The American people would call for peace rather than perpetual war. Obama has a few months left in office to repair his broken legacy. He should start by leveling with the American people.