PM considered plan to train and arm 100,000 Syrian rebels

Secret plan came from army top brass: create rebel army so Syrians could defeat Assad themselves

Syrian rebels take cover behind a barricade in Aleppo
(Image credit: JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

David Cameron considered arming and training a 100,000-strong army of Syrian rebels to defeat president Bashar al-Assad, it has emerged. The secret plan was proposed two years ago but rejected as being too risky, says the BBC’s Newsnight.

The initiative was the brainchild of General Sir David Richards, now Lord Richards, at the time the UK’s most senior military officer. It was seriously considered by the Prime Minister, the National Security Council and US officials.

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