SYRIA WATCH- Mona Yacoubian, Stimson Center http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/02/21/roundtable_arming_the_syrian_rebels

Arming the Syrian opposition remains a bad idea.[ed notes:she means ''overtly'',rebels are already armed thru us client puppet regimes in gulf and turkey] If anything, Syria's chaotic evolution toward sectarian civil war vindicates the Obama administration's caution on the question. The potential is great for unintended consequences: Arms may fall into the wrong hands, and the United States could get sucked into a long, nasty proxy war that foments spillover across the region. Lessons not only from Afghanistan, but also Libya (from Benghazi to Mali), highlight the deadly pitfalls of funneling arms into conflict. That such an inherently volatile and complicated process can be successfully "managed" requires a significant leap of faithBeyond that, the negative repercussions would be significant should the United States essentially become a partisan in an evolving sectarian civil war. In the region, the United States is already perceived as favoring Sunni (and in some cases Islamist) interests as in Bahrain or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Rather than an "above the fray" superpower seeking a negotiated outcome that ushers in a post-Assad Syria, the United States would be viewed by many as simply a partisan player in a Sunni-Alawite civil war. Its ability to help promote the emergence of a multi-sectarian, democratic Syria would diminish significantly. Indeed, U.S. interests in a post-Assad Syria must rise above sectarian agendas.Moreover, greater U.S. involvement in Syria's civil war would also open the United States up to greater security threats in the region and beyond (remember Lebanon). US arming of Sunni armed groups in Syria could provoke Hezbollah, Iran, or others to launch attacks on U.S. targets. The [[[[[[United States should avoid being implicated more directly]]]]]][[[[[ in the destabilizing Sunni-Shiite conflict that is expanding across the region.]]]]] [ed note:meaning ,u.s. should  not be seen and  caugth, so openly of stirring sunni shia sectarian wars,by openly declaring its going to arm the rebels(that must be done covertly as it has been since beggining thru proxies)something whole region is well aware of anyway..moving on more on mona here ... Uprooted Palestinian: REGIME CHANGE INC. (FROM PLAN B TO C ...