Cyber Security and Emerging Threats Dahlia James

US Suspends Aid to Syria as Infighting Ensues

The US has halted its supply of all non-lethal aid into Northern Syria after Islamic Front forces seized headquarters and warehouses belonging to the opposition’s Supreme Military Council (SMC). This occurred after the Islamic Front, which now forms a union of six major rebel groups, took control of the Free Syrian army (FSA) bases located on Syria’s northwestern border with Turkey. According to the US code that defines the role of the US armed forces, non-lethal aid qualifies as communications equipment, intelligence assistance, medical supplies, and body armour. Fortunately, humanitarian aid has not been impacted by this action because it is distributed through international and non-governmental organizations.

This action reflects how the West is responding to the growing role that Islamic fundamentalism (which has predominantly come in the form of Salafism, an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam) is playing within the Syrian opposition. Experts say that this is natural; it is “the expected byproduct of heightened violence combined with receding hopes of a quick resolution,” according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. Despite this, it serves as a problematic barrier for both the Syrian opposition and those nations of the West that are seeking to mitigate the violence. For the former, it risks their receipt of foreign aid and legitimates President Bashar al-Assad’s claims to be fighting terrorism.

Initially, not acting only bolstered the narrative of the Salafi fundamentalists, and now the West finds itself having to cut back its aid in order to hinder the fundamentalists which consequently affects the FSA.

Dahlia James
Dahlia James is a Research Analyst at the NATO Association of Canada, where she writes articles on current events, as well as women in security, Canada’s involvement in NATO, and NATO’s multilateral connections. She has completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Toronto, where she studied Political Science, History, and American Studies. For the entirety of the 2011-2012 academic year, she studied abroad at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where her studies were focused on Israeli foreign policy and Middle Eastern studies. Her recent experience includes acting as the Co-Editor in Chief of the Undergraduate Journal of American Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs, and interning in the research and editorial department at the Jerusalem Centre of Public Affairs. Her interests lie in American foreign policy, Canadian-American bilateral affairs, and both Israeli and Middle Eastern politics.