http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/22/12362044-report-saudis-will-pay-salaries-of-rebel-syria-army?liteaudi Arabian officials will pay the salaries of the Free Syria Army in order to encourage mass military defections and increase pressure on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad's, the Guardian of London newspaper reported Friday.
The move has been discussed by Riyadh with senior U.S. and Arab world officials, the Guardian said.
The Guardian did not specify sources for its report. However, it said, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., an active supporter of the Syrian opposition, recently endorsed the idea of ensuring pay for armed Syrian opposition, though not necessarily with U.S funds.
The plan is gaining support as weapons sent recently to rebel forces by Saudi Arabia and Qatar make a difference on battlefields in Syria.
Saudi officials embraced the pay idea when it suggested by Arab officials in May, sources in three Arab states told the Guardian.
At that time, weapons started to flow across the southern Turkish border to Free Syria Army leaders, the Guardian said.
interesting, I wonder how Assad's allies will respond to this. could it become a race to see which side has the deeper pockets, a bidding war between the sides to see who gets the troops?
