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Illinois man tried to join Al Qaeda-linked group, FBI says

Published April 21, 2013

FoxNews.com

A suburban Chicago teenager has been arrested on terrorism-related charges and accused of seeking to join an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in war-torn Syria, the FBI announced Saturday.

Abdella Ahmad Tounisi was arrested Friday night as he attempted to board a flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Turkey, which borders Syria, the FBI said. He hoped to join Jabhat al-Nusrah, a group fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in a ? civil war.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/21/illinois-man-tried-to-join-al-qaeda-linked-group-fbi-says/

Updated June 14, 2013, 5:29 a.m. ET

U.S. to Arm Syrian Rebels
By ADAM ENTOUS and JULIAN E. BARNES

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama authorized his administration to provide arms to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, officials said Thursday, a major policy shift after the White House said it had confirmed that Damascus used chemical weapons in the country's civil war.

The move is an about-face by Mr. Obama, who last year blocked a proposal backed by then-Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to arm the rebels. At the time, Mr. Obama voiced concerns that arms could end up in the hands of Islamists battling Mr. Assad.

But administration officials who favored providing arms said the White House believes it has a clearer picture today of the opposition and confidence that sufficient safeguards can be put in place to prevent U.S. weapons from reaching Islamist fighters aligned with al Qaeda.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324188604578543820387158806.html

U.S. considers no-fly zone after Syria crosses nerve gas 'red line'

Western powers have been reluctant in the past to arm the rebels, worried about the rising strength of Sunni Islamist insurgents who have pledged loyalty to al Qaeda.

The White House said Washington would now provide "direct military support" to the opposition. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed it would now include arms as opposed to "non-lethal" aid sent in the past.

Syrian rebels already receive light arms from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They have asked for heavier weapons including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Qassem Saadedine, a Supreme Military Council commander, called Obama's decision to send weapons "very brave" and he hoped weapons would start arriving in the coming weeks.

Islamist rebel fighters in Syria were more skeptical. "We consider America an enemy and see it as quite unlikely that it will actually give the mujahideen weapons," Abu Bilal, a Sunni insurgent in Homs, told Reuters via Skype.

An Islamist field commander in Hama said he would take the weapons if he could get them: "Everyone here right now is working on the principle that their enemy's enemy is their friend. America is against Bashar right now, at least publicly."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said increasing the flow of arms to either side "would not be helpful."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/14/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE95C16L20130614