President Obama has long been reluctant to provide substantial aid to Syria's so-called moderate rebels,often dismissed as weak and disorganized.But the rapid rise of the group that calls itself the Islamic State has changed many calculations.The CIA has been running a small-scale covert weapons program since early this year, according to rebels who have been trained and are now receiving arms shipments.The modest program has strengthened moderate battalions, according to Western and regional analysts,even as rebel commanders complain about the meager arms flow.The first American anti-tank missiles, known as TOWs, arrived in northern Syria early this spring.There were just a handful, delivered to only one rebel group carefully vetted by the CIA.The group, Harakat Hazm, or the Steadfast Movement, showed off the new weapons system by posting the first successful strike on YouTube in April.Harakat Hazm's media team works out of a well-furnished apartment on the Turkish border.Ahmed Abu Imad says he's just back from the battlefield in Syriato upload videos of the latest hit ― a strike on a Syrian army artillery cannon.It was huge for us, he says, grinning, because it was bombing a lot of sites.He believes the Syrian military has had to adapt to the new weapons systems.They started to get afraid, he says.Imad uploads videos of every strike on Facebook, Twitter and the battalion's official website.The videos are more than just an accounting of the battalion's success.It's part of the complex program that is run from the joint Military Operations Center near the front lines.The U.S. is a leading participant in the MOC, according to a report by the International Crisis Group,confirmed by rebels who are recipients of the program.Tight Control Over WeaponsThe CIA keeps a tight rein on the rebels and the weapons.Rebels say they have to document every strike by a vetted video teamand turn in the documentation, even the spent canisters from the weapons they've used before they can be resupplied.The resupplies are limited ― no more than five at a time ― say rebels who chafe at this lending library approach to fighting a war.But U.S. support has benefits and has boosted the ranks of moderate rebel groups, says Noah Bonsey, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.Harakat Hazm quickly went from not existing to being one of the most powerful groups in the north, says Bonsey.
一直以来，奥巴马总统都不愿意为叙利亚所谓的温和反对派提供大量援助，这个反对派通常被视为软弱且无组织。但是伊斯兰国组织的迅速崛起使这些想法改变了。据接受训练的反对派表示，自今年初开始，中央情报局一直在进行小规模的秘密武器计划，现在这些反对派将得到美国运送的武器。据西方和区域分析师表示，这项适度的计划可以加强温和派的力量，反对派指挥官都曾抱怨过武器不足。今年初春，美国首批陶式反坦克导弹运抵叙利亚北部地区。此次提供了少量导弹，只会提供给中央情报局仔细审查过的一个反对派组织。4月时，获得导弹的哈兹默运动组织在YouTube网站上展示了这个新武器首次进行的成功袭击。哈兹默运动的媒体工作组在土耳其边境一个家具齐全的公寓办公。艾哈迈德・阿布扎比・伊马德表示，他刚刚从叙利亚战场回来，他要马上把导弹袭击叙利亚政府军火炮的画面上传到网络上。他笑着说，这对我们来说太大了，因为它炸毁了许多地点。他认为叙利亚政府军不得不应对这个新的武器系统。他说，他们开始害怕了。伊马德将所有袭击的画面上传至脸谱网、推特和反对派的官方网站。这些视频不仅仅是在记录反对派的成功。它还是前线附近的联合军事行动中心运营的复杂系统的一部分。据国际危机组织的报告表示，美国是联合军事行动中心的主要参与者，这也得到了在这个项目中受益的反对派的证实。严格控制武器中央情报局严格控制反对派和武器。反对派表示，他们必须由经过审核的视频团队记录每次袭击的情况，而且还要上交文档和该武器用过的金属罐，之后才能得到补给。对这种租借形式进行战斗感到不满的反对派表示，补给是有限制的，一次不超过五个。但是国际危机组织的分析师诺亚・邦什表示，美国的支持对温和反对派是有好处的，而且扩大了温和反对派的队伍。邦什表示，哈兹默运动组织迅速从初建到发展成现在北部地区最有权势的组织之一。
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