Arming the Rebels

Today the House voted and approved Obama's plan in Syria to defeat IS. Obama's plan consists of training and arming Syrian rebels to combat IS militants. The vote was 273 to 156 and the notion to arm the rebels was passed. Despite this there are still many among the government who feel very skeptical about it.  Many feel that this could eventually blow back on the United States where as our own weapons could be used against us. It is still unclear on who to trust and if the weapons would fall to right hands. In addition it will take months to train an efficient fighting force to counter the Islamic State and if it will even be successful. Another major concern that has been brought up is that intervening in Syria will eventually require American troops on the ground. This would undermine what Obama has promised but military commanders are convinced that our investment in Syria will bring up certain instances where ground troops would be required.  Presidents Obama's plan has the right mindset but a mindset for a short term solution that can turn into a bigger problem in the long term. I feel the costs surpasses the benefits of arming moderate Syrian rebels. There is not much intelligence and trust on who we are actually arming. There is a lot of whats ifs to this strategy. What if the arms go to the wrong people and are used against our allies. Finally what if IS and the Al Assad Regime is defeated will these Syrian rebels thank us or threaten us in the future with our weapons. These scenarios must be evaluated seriously before such action is taken to arm these rebels. History can repeat itself where our weapons are being used against us and innocents. 



http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-congress-isis-20140918-story.html