US-Provided Weapons Unlikely to Deliver Aleppo to Jihadists - Ex-CIA Officer

Outgoing President Barack Obama’s last ditch injection of arms into Syria will likely not rollback losses suffered by radical Islamist terrorists that have retreated from the city of Aleppo, former CIA officer Larry Johnson told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Obama signed a determination last week waiving legal restrictions on US provision of defense articles to allies in Syria. The Kremlin warned on Friday that man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) could fall into the hands of terrorists in the wake of Obama’s decision.

"The only credible fighters on the rebel side are the radical Islamists, some who are terrorists and others with ties to terrorists," Johnson explained. "Given the short time left in his term and the retreat from Aleppo of the terrorists it is unlikely that this policy will be more than a mere empty symbolic gesture. That is the saving grace."

Obama is keen on trying to salvage a pathetic legacy of incompetence, Johnston stated, through this dangerous and ill-advised decision to arm the opposition in Syria.

"Giving them weapons is like giving Lee Harvey Oswald a rifle and putting him inside the Texas School Book Depository on the morning of JFK’s visit," Johnson said, referring to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

A US government administration official told Sputnik that Obama’s decision was meant to help its partners during the offensive on the city of Raqqa.

On Saturday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said lifting the restrictions on arms deliveries to US allies in Syria provides more evidence of Washington’s ongoing support of terrorists.