Chemical weapons or not, Obama decided to send stuff to Syria's insurgents "weeks ago"!

"...Despite official statements by the Obama administration that a decision to arm the rebels was made on June 13, preparations were seen by McClatchy on the ground days earlier. In addition to the 300 U.S. Marines that Jordanian officials said were currently stationed along Jordan’s northern border with Syria, meetings were held between Syrian rebels and U.S. officials more than 10 days ago to establish what type of weapons the White House is willing to provide.Jordanian officials also have said that those Marines had no connection to the exercises currently being run by the U.S. and Jordanian militaries, though they were brought into the country under the guise of being part of the “Eager Lion” exercises. Regional analysts and officials have said that while those exercises are touted as a “multilateral relationship-building” measure, on the ground they are widely seen as the U.S. “flexing its muscles” and laying the groundwork for future maneuvers.
“The U.S. has been preparing this for some time. So it is very clear to us, here on the ground in Jordan, that the Obama decision to arm the rebels was made weeks ago rather than days ago,” a Jordanian diplomatic official told McClatchy in an off-the-record briefing... though the gesture was often called “too little too late.”
Like the Jordanian official, the various officials, rebel leaders and others who spoke to McClatchy did not want to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Syrian rebels, said one European official, had repeatedly traveled to Jordan to try and plead their case with the diplomatic community and had pressed the need for a no-fly zone and heavy weapons. The official added that there was “very little appetite” left to arm the rebels at this stage, especially given what he called the “increasing presence of radical Islamist groups in Syria.”
“The assessments being made are that at this stage, the arming of the rebels only ensures one thing – that the fighting will drag on for years to come,” said the European official.
Syrian rebels, meanwhile, have said that it is still unclear if the U.S. will provide what they call “a high-enough impact weapon.”... ..."