Timber Sycamore

Timber Sycamore
Seal of the CIA
Operational scopeWeapons sales, training of Syrian rebel forces
Location
Eastern Europe, Jordan, Syria
Planned byCentral Intelligence Agency
TargetSyria Syrian Army
Date2012–2017
Executed byCentral Intelligence Agency
United States Department of Defense
Jordanian Armed Forces
General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan)
Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah (Saudi Arabia)
Qatar State Security
Secret Intelligence Service (UK)
Outcome
  • Thousands of Syrian rebel fighters trained and equipped by US, UK and Arab governments in an effort to overthrow the Syrian government.[1][2]
  • Delivery of thousands of tons of weaponry worth billions of US dollars.
  • Arms diverted to the Middle East black market; many sold to ISIS.[3][4]
  • Criticism of Obama administration for insufficient support to rebel groups.[5]
  • US led- Syria Train and Equip program continues to arm, train, and support the SDF with airstrikes.
United States involvement in
regime change
20th century
21st century

Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by some Arab intelligence services, including Saudi intelligence. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied money, weaponry and training to Syrian opposition groups fighting Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. According to US officials, the program was run by the CIA's Special Activities Division[6] and has trained thousands of rebels.[7] President Barack Obama secretly authorized the CIA to begin arming Syria's embattled rebels in 2013.[8] The program became public knowledge in mid-2016.

One consequence of the program has been a flood of US weapons including assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades into the Middle East's black market. Critics of the program within the Obama administration viewed it as ineffective and expensive, and raised concerns about seizure of weaponry by Islamist groups and about Timber Sycamore-backed rebels fighting alongside the al-Nusra Front and its allies.[9]

In July 2017, US officials stated that Timber Sycamore would be phased out, with funds possibly redirected to fighting the Islamic State (IS), or to offering rebel forces defensive capabilities.[10][11][12]

  1. ^ Bob Dreyfuss. 13 August 2012 Obama’s Regime-Change Policy in Syria.The Nation
  2. ^ Should the US be part of solution in Syria or leave?. MSNBC. Columbia University professor and special adviser to the United Nations, Jeffrey Sachs, stated: "[T]hey sent in the CIA to overthrow Assad. The CIA and Saudi Arabia together in covert operations tried to overthrow Assad. It was a disaster. Eventually, it brought in both ISIS, as a splinter group to the Jihadists that went in. It also brought in Russia ... We started a war to overthrow a regime. It was covert. it was Timber Sycamore, people can look it up, the CIA operation."
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference conflictarm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference national was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ nytimes.com 2017 cia syria rebel
  6. ^ Sanchez, Raf (3 September 2013). "First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield'". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference mazzetti was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference mapuzzo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Goldman, Adam; Schmidt, Michael S. (2 August 2017). "Behind the Sudden Death of a $1 Billion Secret C.I.A. War in Syria". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  10. ^ Jaffe, Greg; Entous, Adam (19 July 2017). "Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference wp-20170720 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Ali Watkins (21 July 2017). "Top general confirms end to secret U.S. program in Syria". Politico. Retrieved 20 July 2017.