(AhlulBayt News Agency) - "Certainly, US Secretary of State John Kerry has held long talks with the Saudi officials on Syria during his recent visit to Riyadh although the media outlets have not released anything about it and the danger is the secrecy in their talks," Talib Ibrahim said on Tuesday.
"Concurrent with Kerry's visit to Riyadh, the US media reported that Washington is after equipping the militants in Syria with shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles which shows that these talks were held about turning Syria into another Afghanistan."
Ibrahim said that Obama who is leaving the White House has decided to pursue the policy of military and economic friction and erosion of the Syrian government and its allies by continued crisis in Syria and arming the terrorist groups.
The US administration has recently approved the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which authorized arming the terrorists in Syria with anti-aircraft missiles.
According to the Syrian al-Watan newspaper, a little-known statute in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) permits the militant groups in Syria to receive anti-aircraft missiles.
The Obama administration has previously been divided on the idea of providing anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian opposition, which is dominated by extremist groups.
The CIA has considered giving such weapons to the militants, yet other officials have expressed concerns that were the missiles to fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-aligned militants, they could subsequently be used to down civilian airliners.
The 2017 NDAA bill will allow the US to send man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, to militants in Syria, as long as several congressional committees are approved.
The Syrian militants have been scattered in several terrorist groups, including Fatah al-Sham Front (rebranded Syrian al-Qaeda and formerly known as al-Nusra Front), Ahrar al-Sham, Jeish al-Islam, and other hardline militias.
If such militants were to get their hands on MANPADS, they could be used to shoot down civilian aircraft. Moreover, if US-backed Syrian militants were to use anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down Russian planes, it could lead to a further escalation of tension between the two superpowers.
While the US government has, at least publicly, been divided on the issue, some Syrian terrorists have had access to MANPADS for years, according to videos and photos posted to the internet by militants.
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