White House rejects a Clinton/Petraeus plan to arm Syrian rebels

The New York Times (US-Incorporated) reported that the White House rejected a plan compiled by former US Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton and former CIA chief General David Petraeus to provide Syrian rebels with weapons and training. The newspaper said that the White House decided not to implement this plan lest it should drift the USA into the Syrian conflict and in order that weapons shan't end up in "irresponsible" hands. The newspaper quoted officials as saying that the outgoing Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, was in favor of the idea. However, Mrs. Clinton who quit her position last Friday declined to comment on her role in discussing armament to the Syrian opposition, when she was asked about this matter during an exclusive interview with the New York Times.