Rand Paul: It’s ‘a mistake to arm’ militants in Syria

Rand Paul: It’s ‘a mistake to arm’ militants in Syria

US Senator Rand Paul

US Senator Rand Paul, who is seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 election, says it is “a mistake to arm moderate” militants in Syria to defeat the ISIL terrorist group.

"It’s a mistake to arm them. Most of the arms we’ve given to the so-called moderate rebels have wound up in the hands of ISIS, because ISIS simply takes it from them, or it’s given to them, or we mistakenly actually give it to some of the radicals," Paul said on Monday, using an alternative acronym for the group.
The Pentagon plans to train and arm 5,000 militants in Syria as part of the Obama administration’s long-term strategy to confront ISIL.



President Barack Obama has approved to expand US air campaign against ISIL to Syria and requested $500 million from Congress to train and equip “moderate” militants fighting both the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ISIL terrorists.
Paul pointed to reports of a non-aggression pact between the so-called moderate Syrian insurgents and ISIL terrorists over the weekend.
"I would say one insightful piece of news from the last week is, some of the moderate rebels, so-called moderate rebels have now signed a cease-fire with ISIS," he said. "So, really their enemy is really Assad. They don’t really care what ISIS does."
The ISIL militants, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, control large parts of Syria's northern territory. ISIL sent its fighters into Iraq in June, quickly seizing large swaths of land straddling the border between the two countries.
According to the White House, the terrorist group recently beheaded American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria. Foley was reportedly killed last month, and Sotloff was executed early this month.