[leoto5Fm]

June 21, 2012 | The New York Times

Contrary to public denial, a number of C.I.A. officers are operating secretly in southern Turkey,
helping Syrian opposition fighters across the border to receive arms to fight the Syrian government,
according to American officials and Arab intelligence officers.

The weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank
weapons, are being funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of
intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood, and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,
the officials said.



The C.I.A. officers have been in southern Turkey for several weeks, in part to help keep weapons out
of the hands of fighters allied with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, one senior American official
said. The Obama administration has said it is not providing arms to the rebels, but it has also
acknowledged that Syria’s neighbors would do so.

American officials and retired C.I.A. officials said the administration was also weighing additional assistance
to rebels, like providing satellite imagery and other detailed intelligence on Syrian troop locations and
movements. The administration is also considering whether to help the opposition set up a rudimentary
intelligence service. But no decisions have been made on those measures or even more aggressive steps,
like sending C.I.A. officers into Syria itself, they said.

The struggle inside Syria has the potential to intensify significantly in coming months as powerful new
weapons are flowing to both the Syrian government and opposition fighters.