Fast and Furious 2.0? U.S. Weapons End Up on Jordanian Black Market

Alissa Lopez | June 27, 2016
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Fast and Furious, 2.0?

Following a joint investigation with Al Jazeera, The New York Times is now reporting that weapons sent into Jordan by the C.I.A. and Saudi Arabia in order to train Syrian rebels were stolen and sold to merchants on the black market.

This training program, authorized by President Obama in 2013, allows the Central Intelligence Agency to arm and train Syrian rebels under the codename "Timber Sycamore."

Several days ago, the NYT reported the intricate history of the U.S.-Saudi arms relationship in Syria:

… the C.I.A. and its Saudi counterpart have maintained an unusual arrangement for the rebel-training mission, which the Americans have code-named Timber Sycamore. Under the deal, current and former administration officials said, the Saudis contribute both weapons and large sums of money, and the C.I.A takes the lead in training the rebels on AK-47 assault rifles and tank-destroying missiles.

But now, some of the weapons intended for Syrian rebels have found their way to the black market. The weapons reportedly stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives included Kalashnikov assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

According to the NYT :

Word that the weapons intended for the rebels were being bought and sold on the black market leaked into Jordan government circles last year, when arms dealers began bragging to their customers that they had large stocks of American- and Saudi-provided weapons. 

The cache reportedly included high-tech military weapons.

American officials have claimed that the C.I.A. has successfully trained thousands of Syrian rebels over the last few years, which has had a large impact in the country. But how many more weapons will be stolen, and by whom? Will the Obama Administration act on this? How many of these weapons have already landed in the hands of active terrorists?

The NYT stated that it is unclear where most of the weapons ended up after being sold to the merchants, but the outlet did state that some of them were used during a shooting at the Jordan International Police Training Center back in November. The shooter, a former police officer at the base, murdered five individuals, including two Americans, for reasons that are still unknown.

Of course, anytime Left-wing news sources report on one of Obama’s many failures as president, it's a bit surprising. So going forward, I'm genuinely curious if this is something the Left will attempt to bury with stories like why Republicans are to blame for terrorist attacks. Many on the Left will probably continue to shame law-abiding gun owners and blame Christians for mass shootings while conveniently ignoring the role that their beloved president has potentially played in arming dangerous people.

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