ROME — Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Thursday that the United States is preparing to provide $60 million to Syrian opposition groups trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The funds will not be used to arm the fighters, which some rebel groups and some US lawmakers had sought. Instead, the financial support will mostly be used to help opposition leaders provide basic security, sanitation, and educational services in areas they now control.
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The $60 million comes on top of more than $50 million that the United States had provided to help Syrian activists organize. The United States also had provided $385 million in humanitarian aid, both in Syria and to help refugees in neighboring countries. This is money that Obama could use in the USA to avoid cutting back programs to benefit folks with problems right here. Let the Arab countries resolve the problems in the Arab countries.