Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeBritish Foreign Secretary William Hague
has said in a letter to the chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee that there are a “substantial number” of Britons fighting
with extremist rebels in Syria, adding that they could be a threat
to British national security in the future. Hague’s statement comes
shortly after the European Union’s anti-terrorism
chief said that many Europeans are fighting with rebels in
Syria. 

Given that there are a Britons fighting with extremist elements
within Assad’s opposition it is strange that the British government

has been sending aid to rebels in Syria. Last month, Prime
Minister David Cameron has said that the U.K. may veto a renewal of
the arms embargo on Syria. However, in his letter to the chairman
of the Foreign Affairs Committee Hague says that no decision has
been made regarding the embargo.

If the E.U.’s arms embargo on Syria is lifted the U.K. and
France could begin sending weapons to Syrian rebels.
Last month the French foreign minister said that the U.K. and
France would consider sending weapons even with the EU’s embargo
still in place. The embargo is up for renewal at the end of
May. 

While it is the case that there are many rebels in Syria who do
not have extremists sympathies there is no way to guarantee that
whatever support rebels in Syria might receive from France or the
U.K. do not end up in the hands of rebels who pose a threat to
French or British national security.

The number of nationalities and ideologies involved in the
Syrian conflict as well as its delicate diplomatic implications
(particularly regarding Iran and Russia) make it different to other
humanitarian crises. Both Assad’s regime and its opposition contain
unpleasant elements that have the potential to further destabilize
the region. Were European countries to send weapons to rebels in
Syria, even ones that had been vetted, it is impossible to know
where the weapons will end up and how they will be used.