Syria's Opposition Wants More Arms

With rebels having retreated and Syrian army forces having moved into the opposition stronghold of Baba Amr, there are calls in the international community for limited military intervention against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Danielle Pletka, an analyst with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, agrees. “Something that would not get us heavily involved, yes. But I think that we ought to look first at the option of arming the Free Syrian army as our first line of offense against Assad,” she said.

The Obama administration has said it will consider “every tool available” to stop the slaughter, but has made no comments on possibly supplying arms.

Phyllis Bennis, an analyst with the progressive Institute For Policy Studies says any militarization is a bad idea.

“That regime is strongest in the military arena. Weakest in the arena of international legitimacy, human rights, the support of the population. So, as soon as you make it entirely a military battle, you are playing to the strengths of the regime,” said the analyst.

Some experts argue the opposition is too fragmented and not under a central command, making it difficult to know to whom the weapons would go. Analyst Pletka says these concerns give pause, but are not crucial if the goal is to remove the Assad regime.

“Do we want to try and unify them politically, and help them militarily through the provision of weaponry, potentially not necessarily by the United States, but by our Gulf allies for example? I think the answer to that is yes,” she said.

There are also concerns that arming opposition groups could fuel sectarian tensions and lead to a deeper civil war.

“Then you are left with a lot of unaccountable militias," said analyst Bennis. Very similar to the situation now facing people in Libya where you have powerful militias that are holding prisoners, being alleged to be committing terrible human rights violations, and no accountability to anyone.”
There have also been reports of organizations on the U.S. terrorist list such as al-Qaida and Hamas lending support to the opposition. Pletka argues the longer the U.S. waits, the more likely these groups will sway influence in Syria.

“The answer is to find people you want to work with, do your best to unify them, do your best to give them a political cause, a government in exile and leadership they can answer to, and then work with them to oust Assad,” she said.

Until now, Saudi Arabia is believed to be the main supplier of weapons to the opposition. But Syria watchers believe more are on the way.

On Friday, the Turkish foreign minister met with the Syrian opposition with the discussion of arms supplies on the table.

生词表：

1, opposition  [,ɔpə'ziʃən]
n. 反对；反对派；在野党；敌对
2, rebels  ['rebəls]
n. 反叛者（rebel的复数形式）
v. 谋反（rebel的第三人称单数形式）
REBELS: 反叛者 | 叛逆者 | 其它势力
3, retreated 
v. 撤退；隐退（retreat的过去式及过去分词）
retreated: 隐退
4, stronghold  ['strɔŋhəuld, 'strɔ:ŋ-]
n. 要塞；大本营；中心地
Stronghold: 要塞 | 据点 | 要塞据点
5, intervention  [,intə'venʃən]
n. 介入；调停；妨碍
intervention: 干预 | 介入 | 干涉
6, conservative  [kən'sə:vətiv]
adj. 保守的
n. 保守派，守旧者
conservative: 保守的 | 保守党 | 保守派
7, slaughter  ['slɔ:tə]
n. 屠宰，屠杀；杀戮；消灭
vt. 屠宰，屠杀；杀戮；使惨败
slaughter: 宰杀 | 残杀 | 屠杀
8, militarization  [,militərai'zeiʃən, -ri'z-]
n. 军事化；军国主义化；黩武主义的提倡
militarization: 军事化 | 黩武主义的提倡 | 德国再建军主张
9, regime  [rei'ʒi:m, ri-, ri'dʒi:m]
n. 政权，政体；社会制度；管理体制
regime: 政体 | 政权 | 状态
10, arena  [ə'ri:nə]
n. 舞台；竞技场
arena: 竞技场 | 阿瑞娜 | 室内运动场
11, legitimacy  [li'dʒitiməsi]
n. 合法；合理；正统
Legitimacy: 合法性 | 正当性 | 正统性
12, fragmented  ['fræɡmentid]
adj. 片断的；成碎片的
v. 分裂（fragment的过去分词）；使成碎片
13, pause  [pɔ:z]
n. 暂停；间歇
vi. 暂停，停顿，中止；踌躇
14, provision  [prəu'viʒən]
n. 规定；条款；准备；[经] 供应品
vt. 供给食物及必需品
provision: 规定 | 准备金 | 备抵
15, weaponry  ['wepənri]
n. 兵器，武器（总称）
weaponry: 武器 | 武器设计制造学 | 兵器
16, fuel  ['fjuəl]
vt. 供以燃料，加燃料
vi. 得到燃料
n. 燃料；刺激因素
fuel: 添燃料 | 柴米油盐 | HVOF
17, sectarian  [sek'tεəriən]
n. 属于宗派的人；宗派心强的人；宗派主义者
adj. 宗派的；偏狭的；党派心强的
sectarian: 宗派的 | 宗派主义者 | 宗派主义的
18, alleged  [ə'ledʒd]
adj. 所谓的；声称的；被断言的
v. 宣称（allege的过去式和过去分词）；断言
19, accountability  [ə,kauntə'biləti]
n. 有义务；有责任；可说明性
20, sway  [swei]
vt. 影响；统治；使摇动
vi. 影响；摇摆
n. 影响；摇摆；统治
21, exile  ['eɡzail, 'eksail]
n. 流放，充军；放逐，被放逐者；流犯
vt. 放逐，流放；使背井离乡
Exile: 放浪兄弟 | 放逐 | 流亡
22, oust  [aust]
vt. 驱逐；剥夺；取代
Oust: 撵走 | 推翻 | 撵