US Recognizes Syrian Rebel Faction as ‘Foreign Mission’

The Obama Administration has announced today that it will recognize the DC office of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) as an official diplomatic mission, dubbing them the “legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”

Top SNC figure Ahmad Jarba touted the move as a major blow to the Assad government’s legitimacy, though since the SNC is itself a relatively trivial rebel faction, a secular bloc in Turkey with no real support among the assorted Islamist fighters dominating the rebellion, the move doesn’t seem nearly so significant.

The State Department followed up the move with a promise for another $27 million in aid for the SNC. Such subsidies are effectively the group’s only source of revenue, as it continues to lobby for more subsidies on the notion that it will eventually be installed by the US or other powers as the new government of Syria.

The State Department’s statement on the matter also angrily condemned the upcoming Syrian election as unacceptable. The remaining territory of the Syrian government will be voting in early June, though President Assad is expected to win by a huge margin.

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http://news.antiwar.com/2014/05/05/us-recognizes-syrian-rebel-faction-as-foreign-mission/