Kabir News

John “The Butcher” Martorano Takes The Stand Against James “Whitey” Bulger

James Swift — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:59:57 +0000

The murder trial with James “Whitey” Bulger continues today, but yesterday was a continuation of “Whitey Bulger, This Is Your Life”. Monday saw former gangster John “The Basin Street Butcher” Martorano take the stand in a fit of revenge against James Bulger. The reason for revenge was that Martorano felt betrayed by Bulger and Bulger’s parter Stephen “Rifleman” Flemmi—both of whom he named his youngest son after—who were his best friends and godfathers to his children. The betrayal came in the form of Bulger being an FBI informant. Martoran stated, “It broke my heart. It broke all loyalties.”

Martorano went into murders he committed in his time as part of the Winter Hill Gang. Some of them were in tandem with Bulger whom he said served as backup to make sure the hit was finished. The first described was with Bulger blocking the target with his car while he fired at the target with a machine gun from another car. Apparently Bulger was nervous about getting shot since “tracer bullets were coming out of the machine gun and flying over his head.” Prosecutor Fred Wyshak asked Martorano, “Was he angry?” to which Martorano replied, “No. He was joking about it.”

Another murder described was one of two brothers who left Bulger’s group cross. One brother was tracked down to a Medford, Massachusetts restaurant. Martorano said that he “shot him in the heart.” After the other brother was killed, Bulger and company put the body in a car trunk and dropped it off in a South Carolina housing project. Bulger expected some kids to steal the car—which happened.

In 1995 Martorano pled guilty and was given 14 years under the condition that he fully testifying against Bulger. He was released in 2007 after serving 12 years. His testimony also led to reeling in corrupt FBI agent John Connolly who was brought up racketeering, obstruction of justice, and several other charges before the federal court. He served 10 years in a federal facility and is currently doing 40 years in state prison for his role in the murder of John Callahan, a Florida businessman and former owner of World Jai Alai. Also working with federal authorities was Stephen Flemmi who got life terms without parole and dodged a death sentence.

Martorano—who was there to bring Bulger down because of his working as an informant—went in depth about Bulger and Connolly’s working relationship. He said that the three of them grew up in the same housing projects and Connolly looked up to the Bulger brothers James and William—who later became state Senate president and UMass president.

Martorano said that when John Connolly returned to Boston after becoming an FBI agent, he thanked “Billy” Bulger (William) for keeping him on the right track. He reportedly told William Bulger, “If there’s anything I can do…” as a means of repaying him. William Bulger told Connolly that if he could keep “Whitey” Bulger “out of trouble that would be a great help”. Going back to his hearing before Congress about what he (William) knew of James Bulger’s business and whereabouts, this in a way points to the fact that he knew what it was that his brother did for a living which is in contrast to the vagueness he gave at the time. Eventually William Bulger was removed from his position at the University of Massachusetts by then Governor Mitt Romney because of the revelation that he was in contact with James “Whitey” Bulger while the former crime boss was on the run. Bulger’s younger brother, John “Jackie” Bulger was convicted in 2003 for two counts of perjury after swearing that he had no communication with his oldest brother.

Continuing, John Martorano stated that James Bulger and company said that he (Bulger) would meet up with Connolly and “be a good listener.” It would go on that Connelly was getting money and gifts from the man he looked up to from the “old neighborhood”. One gift was unset diamonds as an engagement present for Connolly’s fiancée.

Prosecutors pointed out that the working relationship between Connolly and Bulger’s group allowed for Bulger’s outfit to thrive. He had an inside eye to what the FBI was up to after all. The relationship also allowed for Bulger to effectively carry out some murders. The trial is only five days into what is expected to be a three month trial with some 80 witnesses to appear, it’s expected that more will come out about the FBI working with Bulger’s group through a corrupt agent. Furthermore, it could get down to showing how Bulger’s group worked with local law enforcement and that allowed his outfit to grow uninterrupted as long as it did.

The trial continues today as of his report.

Netflix and Amazon Continue To Snatch Up Classic and Animated Content

James Swift — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:58:24 +0000

Netflix and Amazon continue to duel in pleasing their users with original content. Recently, Netflix has joined in a deal with Dreamworks Animation which will give the streaming media service “over 300 hours of new programming”. This new programming will be based off of current and upcoming films and other franchises. Things kick off with a series based on Turbo; the film comes out soon while the series comes out in December.

Other franchises that could see new content coming in include Where’s Waldo, Casper, and Fat Albert—all of which are held by Classic Media. It will be interesting to see if Dreamworks and Netflix can put out better versions of Where’s Waldo and Casper than the ones from the 90s and 2000s…that is if they make new series or features with these. Speaking of features, Netflix will showcase Dreamworks animated features down the road in their premium deal with featured films being Mr. Peabody and Sherman, The Croods, and Turbo. Honestly Mr. Peabody and Sherman would be enough to jump on board with Netflix.

On the Amazon end of things, they recently got a deal with Disney to showcase several of their shows and films. Amazon’s Lovefilm service—which is a Europe-based stream service—will showcase more Disney films in their Movies on Demand section. Now users in the UK, Norway, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark can view films such as Snow White, Dumbo, Chronicles of Narnia, Cinderella, and more. There’s a large library of animated, CGI animated, and live action films for Lovefilm to choose from and enjoy overall.

It was announced last month that Amazon had inked a deal giving them a ton of Viacom material which ran the gamut of broadcasted shows from MTV, Nickelodeon, and VH1. While the Viacom and Disney deals are well, big deals, Amazon will also deliver custom content out of their Amazon Studios with several programs to air pilots later in the year and early next year.

HTC Gunning For Affordable Smartphones With Desire 200

James Swift — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:33:20 +0000

It looks like HTC is looking to put out another affordable Android smartphone with the new Desire 200 accompanying the Desire 600. The Desire 200 has a 3.5 inch 320×480 display, a 5 megapixel camera, Android 4.0, and a 1GHz processor. It also has the cool HTC Sense UI. The Desire 200 also comes with 4GB storage and can use 32GB using a microSD. It’ll hit Asia first and could easily make its way to the west.

Game Releases of the Week

James Swift — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:44:02 +0000

Week 6/16-6/22

This week sees plenty of titles being released for the PC with a few for other platforms. The quality of the games at first blush varies and the majority of games are titles you’ll need to play since no one else has or will bother getting the game, but there are a few worth buying this week. Let’s see what falls in that category.

New Super Luigi U (Wii U) – 6/20

This is a massive DLC release for Super Mario Bros. U where Luigi takes center stage as part of the Year of Luigi which was kicked off by the release of 3DS title Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, the sequel to GameCube classic Luigi Mansion. It features 80 levels and plays the same as New Super Mario Bros. U. You’ll be able to switch between the levels in New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U. The DLC will be out June 20th while the physical game will be released later this year.

Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon (PC, AOS, iOS, MAC) – 6/19

Dracula 4 is an adventure/puzzle title based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is the sequel to Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon. The series is pretty solid overall if you enjoy old school PC-style adventure titles where you point and click you’ll enjoy the first two games in the series: Dracula: Resurrection and Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary. Dracula 4 is likely to take after Dracula 3 with actual movement and the like to the game. Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon comes out June 19th.

Muramasa Rebirth (VITA) – 6/21

This port of the Wii title Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an action RPG focused on a ninja and a princess collecting 108 magical swords while slaying demons and other enemies. It’s a fairly straight forward title leaning more on the action side and having RPG elements than a full on action RPG. Despite that, it’s an extremely fun game and was beautifully executed on the Wii. It features great gameplay, great artwork, and difficult enough to keep your thumbs moving and to test your reflexes.

Jak and Daxter Collection (VITA) – 6/18

The Jak and Daxter Collection puts the first three games—Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, and Jak 3—in a neat compilation for the PlayStation Vita. The Jak and Daxter series is worth playing and this collection is worth getting if you haven’t gotten to enjoy these titles on the PlayStation 2. Jak and Daxter Collection comes out tomorrow.

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (VITA) – 6/18

The Epic Mickey games are a mixed bag. They can be fun, but they fall short of even future classic status while being far from instant classics. Also the first in the series was better than Epic Mickey 2. There’s sure to be some who will enjoy this one if they dig platforming and want a decent one. It comes out on the PlayStation Vita tomorrow.

Knights of Pen & Paper (PC) – 6/18

Knights of Pen & Paper is a pretty popular turnbased RPG for the PC. It has old school pixel-style graphics and debuted on the mobile platform some time ago. This is just a great game which is very similar to Dungeons & Dragons with the paper and pen-style of gameplay. It’s definitely worth snagging for PC and for your smartphone.

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (360) – 6/18

This double pack—one game short of a compilation—put two Capcom adaptions of the Dungeons & Dragons series in one release. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara are presented with HD graphics, but keeps the same great gameplay of the early 90s titles. The games are so popular that they will be ported to other consoles and made the jump from the arcade cabinet to the Sega Saturn in the late 90s.

Let’s see all the releases for this week.

360
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (6/18)

Android OS
Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon (6/19)

iOS
Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon (6/19)

MAC
Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon (6/19)

PC
Binary Maze (6/17)
Dracula 4: Shadow of the Dragon (6/19)
Knights of Pen & Paper (6/18)
Magrunner: Dark Pulse (6/20)
MotoGP 13 (6/21)
Pro Cycling Manager Season 2013: Le Tour de France – 100^th Edition (6/20)

Wii U
New Super Luigi U (6/20)

VITA
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (6/18)
Jak and Daxter Collection (6/18)
Muramasa Rebirth (6/21)

Swift’s Picks: New Super Luigi U, Knights of Pen & Paper, Jak and Daxter Collection, Muramasa Rebirth, Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

Former Boston Bookie Takes Court Back In Time In Bulger Case

James Swift — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:00:34 +0000

James “Whitey” Bulger (aged 83) was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston for years before going on the run in 1994 after an FBI agent let him know that the agency was on to him in regards to a pending RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) indictment. The Winter Hill Gang was an Irish crime group established in the 1950s which Bulger took over in 1979. His federal case—based on his involvement in the deaths of 19 people as well as several other charges—began this week and today saw former Boston-area bookie Richard O’Brien (aged 84) testify for the prosecution of Bulger’s involvement with the gang as well as to his character.

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Richard O’Brien went into one incident involving Bulger and someone who owed him money. After scoffing at the notion of paying Bulger, the former crime boss told the man “We have a business besides bookmake.” When the man asked what business it was, Bulger supposedly answered, “Killing **** like you.” Bulger laughed at the recollection as if hearing a humorous story from the good old days. O’Brien also went into how he came about being a part of the Winter Hill Gang saying that he was an unaffiliated bookmaker—meaning he had no links to any particular group. He stated that Bulger said to “Forget the North End,” and that if he wanted to remain in business he would have join them. “Their reputation preceded them.” O’Brien said of the Winter Hill Gang.

O’Brien said in the 14 years he worked with Bulger, he paid the group roughly $2,000 a month in case as rent saying that he valued his life and those with him—friends and loved ones. Sometimes he would pay more because since Bulger and his partner Stephen “Rifleman” Flemmi would impose “taxes” for a number of arbitrary reasons. Bulger got the money through Flemmi to keep his own hands clean suggested O’Brien.

He left the business—and his association with the Bulger’s group—in the early 1990s. The bookmaking firm was left in the hands of one of his daughters. A few years later while staying in Florida he said that he was called back to Boston for a meeting with “Rifleman” Flemmi. The premise of the meeting was to discuss rumors of a “father and daughter team”—obviously meaning he and his daughter—talking with the FBI about their activity. Before heading into the meeting he told his daughter, “If I’m not back in 12 hours go to the FBI in Miami. Don’t go home (Boston). Don’t go to the FBI there.”

It’s expected that Richard O’Brien will continue to testify today. Bulger’s legal team is looking to paint the FBI and federal prosecutors unfavorably by saying they allowed for Bulger to act as he wished and were in league with him. Massachusetts State Police Colonel Thomas Foley (retired) mentioned that the FBI ran a shoddy ship and that the agency “put a higher priority protecting their informants,” than public safety.

During cross defense attorney Hank Brennan asked Foley about how legitimate James Bulger’s FBI informant file is and his reasons for using the file if he didn’t trust the agents he worked with. Foley stated that there were other sources, but that he never bothered to check into the integrity of the FBI file as a whole.

The defense is also looking to show that Bulger was never working with the FBI as a paid informant and was using dirty agents for information. In an HLN interview with Ryan Smith, former Winter Hill Gang associate and drug dealer John “Red” Shea said that Bulger worked with the FBI while spouting the code of silence to the rest of his group.

The entire trial could take around three months as there is quite a bit of information to go over during James “Whitey” Bulger’s run of the Winter Hill Gang and the murders. These include the nature of FBI corruption and far it goes as well as the inside workings of the Irish mob. Expect some former members and associates, more law enforcement, and maybe even family who weren’t directly involved with the workings of the mob, but were probably aware of what was going on. The main event of the trial would be Bulger himself testifying.

Prior to his capture, Bulger was hiding for 16 years and living in Santa Monica under a false name. He was staying with his long-time girlfriend Catherine Greig when he was captured two years ago. Greig had been wanted by the FBI since 1999 while Bulger was in the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives. While on the run, he had been sighted throughout North America and the UK.

During his July 2011 arraignment he pled not guilty to charges of 19 murders and 13 other accounts. Greig was sentenced to eight years for “conspiracy to harbor a fugitive”, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.

While Bulger was on the run, his brother William “Billy” Bulger—former Democratic Party Senator of Massachusetts and former President of the University of Massachusetts—testified before the U.S Congress in 2002. Of his brother’s criminal past and what he thought Bulger did for income he stated that he figured Bulger was involved in gaming (gambling) and possibly illegal work that wasn’t “all that violent”. He also mentioned that Bulger had regular jobs. He went on to mention that he did talk to Bulger via pay phone. As a result, former Governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney forced William Bulger to step down from his position as president of University of Massachusetts.

William Bulger wasn’t the only Bulger brother involved in politics who lost his position as a result of communicating with James Bulger while he was on the run. John “Jackie” Bulger, a retired judge in the state, was convicted of perjury to two grand juries in 2003.

With some 78 witnesses scheduled to be called by the defense and 50 potential witnesses revealed earlier this week, both brothers could possibly be brought in based on their previous confessions in public record. Catherine Greig has turned down speaking before court.

Facebook and Microsoft Release Government Request Numbers

James Swift — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 04:34:05 +0000

Recently Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have petitioned the U.S government to allow for them to share the nature of their PRISM involvement in a means to be more transparent with their users. While on the surface the intent is noble, there’s also this amount of users threatening to leave or “riot” about the companies’ links with the U.S surveillance program. Maybe they would jump back to MySpace where they know the U.S government isn’t bothering with.

Apparently Facebook and Google got the greenlight to share information with its users about the user-data requests. The numbers only show how many, but not what they were looking for specifically as President Obama and other officials have stated that it was general foreign terrorist correspondence and the like. The queries also included law enforcement at the local, state, and federal level carrying out tasks such as finding missing children, tracking fugitives, investigating assaults, and of course national security. Both Google and Facebook released similar statements with the data saying that the inquiries ran “for the six months ending December 31, 2012”.

With Facebook, the number of requests ran between 9,000 and 10,000 with the number of accounts that data was requested and possibly pulled from were between 18,000 and 19,000. The number was of requests for Microsoft was smaller, but the accounts targeted were larger as it covers a much wider scope than Facebook. In their statement they received “…between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and national security warrants, subpoenas and orders affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 consumer accounts…”

While the numbers don’t tell much, they give something as opposed to “We’re not reading your emails” and “We’re looking for terrorists” and it could be all concerned users will get. At most we can expect to hear the success these inquiries have led to. Actual results from these searches are likely to calm concerns more. It gives the impression of being worth the inconvenience to a degree.

Expect other companies to release their numbers in the coming days.

The Movie Weekend

James Swift — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:13:04 +0000

Week of 6/9-6/15

We all know what film is the star of this weekend and that’s Man of Steel. Directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan—director and producer of the Dark Knight (Batman) series—this film is a reboot of the Superman series, so it’s not a sequel to Superman Returns. This movie is intended to be the springboard for a DC Film Universe of sorts and could be the film that leads to DC Comics competing with Marvel Comics on the big screen in an all-out way. Seriously, The Dark Knight series alone couldn’t carry the weight of DC when Marvel has Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, Deadpool, X-Men, Wolverine, and very likely The Incredible Hulk and The Fantastic Four. There has also been talk of another Blade series kicking off and a series based on a little known Marvel team—as opposed to the popular Black Panther character.

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There’s simply more weight on Marvel’s side in the way of silver screen success. There always has been. If you go back a decade, Marvel still had the advantage with Spider-Man. Sure they had some lemons in Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, and the first Punisher film, but they also had the first Fantastic Four, The Hulk, the second Punisher, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and the X-Men films. DC’s only success in the last two decades as far as films are concerned was with the two Batman film series and in the 1980s with the original Superman series of films.

Note that I said “as far as films are concerned”. When it comes to live action TV series you have to give it to DC Comics and with animation it’s split depending on the decade. The last decade and this one has been mostly DC Comics with series like Teen Titan, Justice League, Young Justice, Batman: The Brave and Bold, and The Batman all making up their DC Animated Universe and a good deal of incredible animated feature films.

Meanwhile Marvel had success with The Mighty Avengers, X-Men Evolution, The Ultimate Spider-Man, and to some degree The Spectacular Spider-Man as well as some good animated features (not Marvel Manga). The 90s could be given to Marvel with X-Men and Spider-Man—there were other B-level cartoons such Iron Man, Fantastic Four, The Hulk—but DC Comics had the standout Batman: The Animated Series which was incredible from artwork to story. Sure Superman ruined DC’s chances to actually take the 1990s, but there will always be Batman: The Animated Series.

Back to the big screen, Man of Steel looks incredible, the hype is behind it, and there’s a lot riding on it to be a great Superman film. Not a “good” one and not a “decent” one, it really has to deliver and with the time put into this one and the crew behind the creative process and direction of this film, I believe it’s been nailed. It’s a movie the whole family can watch and could very well appeal to comic book fans like myself or hardcore comic book fans.

The other film that got promo time was This Is The End. This apocalyptic comedy features a star cast of comedic actors with Seth Rogen (who wrote and directed the film), James Franco, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, and Craig Robinson. Everyone in the film pretty much stars as fictionalized version of themselves—so they play themselves—and there’s also a lot of guest stars in the film such as Rihanna, Kevin Hart, Evan Goldberg (who also directed the movie), and more. If you’re looking for a new comedy this weekend, this will be your film.

There are two other films out this week: The Bling Ring and Twenty Feet From Stardom. The first is a crime drama based on actual events and is directed, written, and produced by Sofia Coppola. It stars Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, and Leslie Mann among others. It will have a limited opening this weekend in New York and Los Angeles and a nationwide release next week.

Twenty Feet From Stardom is a documentary about the lives and careers of backup singers. This one could actually be pretty interesting. It features plenty of star performers most likely discussing their backups. When you have documentaries about the performers that don’t manage to get to the top or who aren’t in the front for performances, you usually hear about how they could’ve been bigger than they are and maybe whatever problems they’ve had or how the business was at the time. Think Anvil: The Story of Anvil only focused on a different part of music and stage performance. Twenty Feet From Stardom is out now.

Here’s what’s hot in theaters:

The Purge
Fast & Furious 6
Now You See Me
The Internship
Epic
Star Trek Into Darkness
After Earth
The Hangover Part III
Iron Man
The Great Gatsby (2013)

Swift’s Picks: Obviously I’m going with Man of Steel as the hot pick to watch. It’s not your buddy comedy or zombie slaughter film or Saw-grade gorefest or CGI animated feature or heist film, but it is a truly blockbuster film that isn’t called Iron Man 3, After Earth, Fast & Furious 6, or Star Trek Into Darkness—the first and third of which are worth seeing as well. This Is The End is a pretty distant second if you need a comedy to watch. Expect Man of Steel to do extremely well this weekend at the box office. I don’t see it having a strong Iron Man 3-grade run, but I see it doing much better than Star Trek Into Darkness which has done good, but not as good as it should’ve. I truly see it sticking in the Top 10 for a while and sitting in the upper five longer than After Earth and Star Trek Into Darkness were.

Get out to the theaters, beat the rush, get a good seat, and enjoy the movies!

Argentine Law Enforcement Strikes Slavery Rings

James Swift — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:13:57 +0000

In a national raid across some 70 locations, Argentine law enforcement forces rescued more than 200 Colombians working as part of a national slavery ring. Twenty-three were arrested for recruiting the victims. Authorities say that the accused brought Colombians to Argentina then forced them to work off debt that are either high or manageable, but sees the victim make so little or their progress not documented. This results in the victim never leaving because they’re unaware of how much they’re making or they’re aware and know it’s not making a dent in their debt at all.

Of the slavery ring Carlos Sanchez—Director General of Social Security in Argentina—said of the slavery ring: “We are looking at a case of slave labor, but in the modern concept of the term. They are not in chains.” According to Sanchez, the workers were manipulated and conditioned to work for the ring in the worst of conditions.

The overall investigation in the ring’s activities went on for over two years and was sparked when a victim got in contact with an Argentine customs agent about the criminal group. Cordoba International Airport investigated further when they noticed Colombians arriving in the country with no money or luggage to speak of.

While people are now free and some parts of the ring busted up, there’s no telling how deeply the roots go and how far they run throughout South America or even elsewhere. On top of that, those arrested are looking at sentences of just four to fourteen years. This means that some of the 23 captured could return to doing their deplorable acts and miss very little in how everything is restructured and how the ring is running. Liken it to a crime boss or lower member who manages to get a fairly light sentence. Once out they can go right back to doing whatever it was they were doing before without being too out of place.

There’s also a question of how far up the chain of command these who were arrested are. If they’re two or third tier that won’t hobble the ring at all. They’re pretty much replaceable.

It’s Official: Facebook To Get Hashtags

James Swift — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:20:58 +0000

With the long time popularity of hashtags onTwitter and how they allow for topics to be discovered, Facebook started rolling out hashtags earlier this week. It had been rumored the titan social network would get hashtags back in March and it had been requested even longer. Facebook pointed out users tend to use the Twitter trend on the site and that it figured it should allow them and make them usable—meaning that you can click on them and search them.

It was mentioned that hashtags from services like Instagram (owned by Facebook) will be clickable and that users can compose post from hashtag feeds as well as search results. That’s sure to be a treat for Facebook users who either dabble with Twitter but don’t want to go full in on that particular social network or love Facebook, but want the Twitter experience of hashtags.

The internet first embraced the hashtag in 2007 when Twitter user Chris Messina used it regularly. From there, Twitter made the hashtag as part of its structure of organizing topics and tweets and seeing what other members think of the subject.

What’s your response to actual hashtag functionality coming to Facebook?

U.S To Provide Weaponry to Syrian Rebels

James Swift — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:53:12 +0000

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Thursday saw The White House state that Syria crossed the “red line” after using chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war there. As a result, President Obama agreed to sending arms to some rebels. The timing of the decision was somewhat off as prior to President Obama’s concrete answer on the issue Senator John McCain(R-Arizona) told the Senate “The president also will announce that we will be assisting the Syrian rebels by providing them with weapons and other assistance. I applaud the president’s decision.”

Senator McCain has been in regular contact with the Free Syrian Army on the civil war after his trip there and has been pushing for more support for the rebels. The Supreme Military Council—a wing of a larger group of factions in league against President Bashar Assad’s regime—will be given the weapons for their cause.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes stated that U.S intelligence gathered that Syria used sarin nerve gas was used in Aleppo and near the Syrian capital of Damascus between March and May. The attacks are said to have killed some 100 to 150 people according to U.S officials. The investigation occurred when a United Nations probe was blocked by President Bashar Assad. During this time, President Obama issued the warning that use of chemical weapons would result in the United States responding to the action. The “response” was never made specific and at the time could’ve meant the combat effective support such as anti-tank weaponry, guns, and ammo that the rebel requested or tactically effective supplies such as armor and communication devices.

Ben Rhodes said that President Obama is said to be approaching this situation carefully and not going as far as issuing a no-fly zone in Syria or putting soldiers on the ground which Senator McCain and supporters of the rebels’ cause have been pushing for. “People need to understand that not only are there huge costs associated with a no-fly zone, not only would it be difficult to implement, but the notion that you can solve the very deeply rooted challenges on the ground in Syria from the air are not immediately apparent.” To elaborate on his point, he said that throughout Syria it would simply be difficult to effective put the no-fly zone and resulting retaliation for the zone being violated in place because of the make up and blend of factions and civilians on both sides of the conflict.

As stated, the Obama administration hadn’t decided what level of assistance to provide and will be meeting with President Vladimir Putin at the G8 economic summit next week where the issue is likely to turn up. This actual shaping of this conflict will depend in part on the kind and amount of weapons provided. The rebels are looking at heavy arms that wouldn’t require much training or finesse to make use of and can be utilized quickly as opposed to the training that would be required to effectively use small arms.

Time is a resource that is fleeting in this conflict so training would need to be kept to a minimum—hence part of the reason for large arms. The other reason for this is that the rebels simply need arms that will make a dent against the opposition–something that could turn the conflict. It should be noted that in April, it was announced that $127 million in nonlethal aid—communication devices, armored vehicles, etc.—was announced, but has yet to reach the rebels.

Dan Layman, Syrian Support Group spokesman based in Washington commented that General Salim Idris—commander of the SMC—needed weapons to stave off the Syrian government around Aleppo. “We have been in contact with General Idris in the past few days, and his requests are the same: communications equipment, antitank weaponry, antiaircraft weaponry, and enough small arms ammunition to help him defend Aleppo, which is about to be under siege by nearly 20,000 regime and regime-allied forces.”

The Deputy National Security Adviser, Ben Rhodes said that the U.S would offer the proof of sarin or chemical gas usage to the U.N, the Congress, and the public. Included would be notes about attacks and their plotting as well as symptoms related to chemical weapons use in the case of Damascus and Aleppo. The information on chemical weapons use will also come with samples. It is possible that notes from French investigators—who determined that Assad’s forces made use of chemical weapons in attacks—could be included. Rhodes went on to reject Assad’s notion that the rebels used chemicals and that there was no evidence otherwise.