Under the leadership of a young, battle-hardened rebel commander, the men entrusted with the first American missiles to be delivered to the Syrian war are engaged in an ambitious effort to forge a new, professional army.
Abdullah Awda, 28, says he and his recently formed Harakat Hazm — or Movement of Steadfastness — were chosen to receive the weapons because of their moderate views and, just as important, their discipline. At the group’s base, sprawled across rocky, forested wilderness in the northern province of Idlib, soldiers wear uniforms, get medical checkups and sleep in bunk beds under matching blankets.
The scene is a far cry from the increasingly pervasive view of a chaotic, ragtag rebel movement that has fallen under the sway of Islamist extremists. Such concerns have long deterred the Obama administration from arming the Syrian opposition.
But the arrival at the base last month of U.S.-made TOW antitank missiles, the first advanced American weaponry to be dispatched to Syria since the conflict began, has reignited long-abandoned hopes among the rebels that the Obama administration is preparing to soften its resistance to the provision of significant military aid and, perhaps, help move the battlefield equation back in their favor.
The small number of BGM-71 missiles, about two decades old and hardly better than similar Russian and French models acquired by the rebels from allies and the black market over the past year, will not change the game in the fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the fighters say. Three years into the war, the government has pushed opposition forces out of many of their most important strongholds, deferring their hopes of victory indefinitely.
However, the shipment “is an important first step,” Awda said during the first visit to his base by a journalist since the missiles arrived.
The weapons were not directly provided by the United States. “Friends of Syria” delivered them, he said, referring to the U.S.-backed alliance of Western powers and Persian Gulf Arab states established to support the opposition Free Syrian Army. The rebels had to promise to return the canister of each missile fired, to not resell the weapons and to protect them from theft.
Awda declined to offer further details of the provenance of the missiles. But he said the donors made clear to him that the delivery had U.S. approval, and U.S. officials have confirmed that they endorsed the supply.
“The most important thing is not the TOW missile itself, it’s the change in the policy,” he said. “It suggests a change in the U.S. attitude toward allowing Syria’s friends to support the Syrian people. It’s psychological more than physical.”
With 5,000 fighters, Hazm is one of the smaller rebel groups, but Awda said his goal is to focus on building a quality force, emphasizing the recruitment of former soldiers with military experience. His fighters receive salaries of $100 a month, paid for by the rebels’ allies, and 150 have been given training in Qatar, he said.
Leading a journalist on a tour of his camp, Awda was at pains to emphasize the group’s discipline, structure and moderation, evidently in the hope of receiving further U.S. help. Few fighters were there, he said, because most were on the front lines 10 miles to the south or farther to the west, where rebels have been engaged in a new offensive.
There were plenty of signs of assistance in the form of funds and nonlethal aid from the rebels’ allies, including the United States. U.S. officials said the group was among six rebel units authorized this year to receive nonlethal American aid, including vehicles and medical supplies, after being vetted for its political views, its associations and its capabilities.
MODERATE OR EXTREMIST JIHADI IS A JIHADI AND ONE WAY OR THE OTHER AMERICA WILL ALWAYS END UP PICKING THE WRONG SIDE.
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