Secretary of State John Kerry held a news conference in Rome where he announced a major policy shift, saying the United States "will be providing an additional $60 million immediately in non-lethal assistance to support the coalition in its operational needs."By Catherine Chomiak, Producer, NBC NewsROME - In a policy shift, the United States on Thursday announced plans to channel non-lethal assistance directly to Syrian rebels in the battlefield rather than through non-governmental agencies.
"The simple fact is (Syrian President Bashar) Assad cannot shoot his way out of this," Secretary of State John Kerry said after his first meeting with Syrian opposition leaders
in Rome. "For more than a year the U.S. and our partners who have gathered here in Rome have called on Assad to heed the voice of the Syrian people and halt his war machine. Instead what we have seen is his brutality increase."
The aid will include $60 million to assist the Syrian Opposition Coalition in expanding the delivery of basic goods and services, including security, sanitation, and educational services to communities in liberated areas of Syria.
The U.S. will also send "technical advisers" to support opposition staff in Egypt and work with the movement's military arm to provide non-lethal support to the Free Syrian Army, including things like military rations and medical supplies to tend the sick and the wounded. The U.S. plan, forged with European allies, will not include weapons despite the calls of a growing number of American senators.Slideshow: Syria uprising (http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/id/48244949/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=48244949&wbSection=news)(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-120719-syria-uprising/ss-130227-syria-tease.380;380;7;70;0.jpg) (http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/id/48244949/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=48244949&wbSection=news) / A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.Launch slideshow
Disappointed opposition?
The announcement is sure to also disappoint opponents of the Syrian regime who have been asking for weapons. Frustration with the West's stance had prompted the opposition coalition to say last week that it would boycott the Rome talks. It changed its mind under U.S. pressure.
An unnamed European diplomat who spoke to Reuters held out the prospect of possible Western military support, saying the coalition and its Western and Arab backers would meet in Istanbul next week to discuss military and humanitarian support to the rebels.
Kerry, who is in Europe on his first foreign trip in his new position, has said that Washington is looking for new ways to help rebels fighting Assad's government and speed up political transition in the country. The aid is also intended to help counteract the influence of radical groups fighting with the opposition.
"We are working and will continue to work closely with the Syrian Opposition Coalition and our international partners in order to make sure that the assistance we give reaches who need it," Kerry said. "The people who need it and that we want to have receive it, even those who are trapped in some of the hard to reach areas."Secretary of State John Kerry met with Syrian opposition leaders today and has announced the U.S. will supply Syrian rebels with non-lethal aid. NBC's Richard Engel reports.The West and Syria's neighbors have been looking for a solution to the two-year-old civil war in Syria that has claimed approximately 70,000 lives, forced at least 2.5 million people from their homes, and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing into neighboring countries. The conflict also threatens to destabilize the region, in particular neighboring Lebanon.
U.S. policymakers also are trying to make sure the aid does not fall into the hands of al-Qaida sympathizers fighting with the rebels.
A senior State Department official told NBC News on Thursday:
"We are concerned that we have extremists operating in and among the opposition who don't share the goals of a future Syria that is democratic, that's united, that is just, and that respects the human rights of all Syrians citizens and provides for all of them. So those members of the opposition that support our shared values need to be able to demonstrate that they can deliver a better day and need to set an example of a Syria where daily life is governed neither by the brutality of the Assad regime nor by the agenda of al-Qaida affiliated extremists."
Hardline groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham have already waged some of the deadliest attacks in Syria, including car bombings in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. Their ranks have been swollen by jihadi fighters from around the Muslim world.
Reuters contributed to this report.Related:US, allies planning direct aid to Syrian rebels (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17118363-us-allies-planning-direct-aid-to-syrian-rebels?lite)Huge blast rocks central Damascus as Assad hints at talks (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17089890-huge-blast-rocks-central-damascus-as-assad-hints-at-talks?lite)In initial coup for Kerry, Syria's opposition to attend Rome meeting (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/syria)This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:51 AM EST
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