(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - At his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, Breedlove said he supports the idea of arming the militants in their fight against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Breedlove, who is serving as the Commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, also said that it was important for Washington to ensure that the arms do not fall into the wrong hands in Syria.
"If we could assure that the weapons were going to the right people and that we would not have to face them in the future, that would be helpful to removing the regime [in Syria]," Breedlove said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization approved the nomination of Philip Breedlove to the post of Supreme Allied Commander Europe in March.
Washington has publicly claimed that it only offers “nonlethal” aid to the militants trying to overthrow the Syrian government.
However, media reports have indicated that the US trains the foreign-sponsored militants in the crisis-hit country, in addition to coordinating arms shipments to them.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.
The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants fighting in the country are foreign nationals.
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