CIA Still Trying to Assess Syrian Rebels

CIA Still Trying to Assess Syrian Rebels

The Washington Post reports that the CIA is still trying to get a read on the Syrian uprising:

U.S. spy agencies have expanded their efforts to gather intelligence on rebel forces and Assadâ??s regime in recent months, but they are still largely confined to monitoring intercepted communications and observing the conflict from a distance, officials said.

Interviews with U.S. and foreign intelligence officials revealed that the CIA has been unable to establish a presence in Syria, in contrast with the agencyâ??s prominent role gathering intelligence from inside Egypt and Libya during revolts in those countries.

With no CIA operatives on the ground in Syria and only a handful stationed at key border posts, the agency has been heavily dependent on its counterparts in Jordan and Turkey and on other regional allies.

The lack of intelligence has complicated the Obama administrationâ??s ability to navigate a crisis that presents an opportunity to remove a longtime U.S. adversary but carries the risk of bolstering insurgents sympathetic to al-Qaeda or militant Islam.

Not to worry: U.S. pundits with absolutely none of the already limited information that the CIA has are ready to make sweeping claims about the moral necessity of aiding the rebels who - we are assured by people who cannot possibly know - are "the good guys." Even American senators assert that Syrian rebels are "fighting for universal values." So that must make it so.

And besides, those intelligence agencies closest to the scene must have a firmer grasp on things:

â??But weâ??ve got to figure out who is over there first, and we donâ??t really know that,â? said a U.S. official who expressed concern over persistent gaps and who, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing intelligence matters. â??Itâ??s not like this is a new war. Itâ??s been going on for 16 months.â?

The lack of clarity has also fueled anxiety among U.S. allies in the region over who will control Syria if Assad falls. Even among Arab intelligence services eager to help rebels overthrow Assad, â??the vetting process is still in the early stages,â? said a Middle Eastern intelligence official, insisting on anonymity to discuss his countryâ??s involvement in the Syrian crisis.

(AP Photo)