Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the Obama
administration and its allies are "developing ways" to hasten the ouster
of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a vow that came as U.S. officials
said they are considering sending nonlethal aid directly to Syrian
fighters.
Mr. Kerry is expected to more fully explain the U.S. shift at a
conference in Rome Thursday. However, officials stressed it wouldn't
involve the shipment of weapons to Syrian opposition fighters, a move
the White House opposed even when it was suggested last year by the
Pentagon, State Department and Central Intelligence Agency.
U.S. officials also aren't considering direct military
involvement, such as a no-fly zone, which some rebels and Obama
administration critics have urged.
Nonetheless, providing nonlethal aid directly to rebels would
be a step toward greater U.S. involvement in the conflict. The Americans
presently provide humanitarian and nonlethal aid, including
communications gear and related training, through Syria's political
opposition, working with grass roots activist councils and other Syrian
and international aid agencies, rather than the fighters themselves.
Mr. Kerry alluded to a new U.S. approach at a news conference in Paris Wednesday, while not specifying details.
"We are examining and developing ways to accelerate the
political transition that the Syrian people want and deserve," Mr. Kerry
said.
Unlike some European countries, the U.S. before now hasn't yet
directly delivered funds or equipment to Syrian rebel fighters, citing
legal restrictions and concerns over the chaotic nature of the
insurgency, which has attracted al Qaeda-linked and foreign fighters.
The U.S. offer, as it is taking shape, falls well short of
what rebels, some U.S. allies and Obama administration critics have been
seeking because it does not provide for U.S. military involvement or
weapons.
But a gradual shift to more direct U.S. involvement would
allow Mr. Kerry to point to advances in the U.S. position when he
attends an international conference Thursday in Rome organized to
support Syrian opposition forces.
Mr. Kerry didn't specifically comment on the conference or the
U.S. offer during a press briefing Wednesday. But he stressed that
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad needed to see that the "situation on
the ground" was changing.
"He must know he can't shoot his way out of this so we need to
convince him of that and the opposition needs more help in order to be
able to do that," the secretary of state said.
According to U.S. officials, providing nonlethal aid to the
Syrian opposition's main rebel military council will mark a deepening
engagement and help the administration cultivate allies in the rebel
insurgency.
In Rome, the American diplomat will meet with Syrian
opposition leaders for the first time, including Sheikh Moaz Khatib, the
head of the main Syrian Opposition Coalition, following a series of
diplomatic meetings. In Berlin on Tuesday, he met Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, part of continuing talks between U.S. and
Russian officials on the parameters of a political transition in Syria.
One U.S. official, who described the upcoming change, did not
characterize the decision to work directly with Syria's armed opposition
as a major policy shift. The U.S. still opposes arming the rebels, but
has begun to coordinate much more closely with the Arab countries that
are "directly arming" the rebels, the official said.
Syria's main rebel factions regrouped in December under the
command of a multilingual, secular-minded chief of staff, Brigadier
General Salim Idriss, in what is called the Supreme Military Council.
Brig. Gen. Idriss has spent the last few months consulting closely with
Jordanian, UAE, Qatari, and Turkish officials. He has been invited to
Washington, alongside coalition leader Mr. Khatib, to meet with U.S.
officials.