Syria under Bashir Assad (closed end 2014)

[Dayuhan]

The next step: flood the country with guided missiles, heat-seeking missiles and tandem warheads.

Are these weapons really that readily available? Obviously cash isn't a major constraint. If anyone who can auction a few cars can pick up a MANPADS, it's odd that more of them haven't been used for terrorist purposes.

[davidbfpo]

This is the thread's current title and perhaps should be changed now.

Aside from that Patrick Cockburn is a reporter who has been in Syria, with regime approval and writes a quite different account, as suggested by the title 'Foreign media portrayals of the conflict in Syria are dangerously inaccurate':http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/...e-8679937.html

[Bill Moore]

Are these weapons really that readily available? Obviously cash isn't a major constraint. If anyone who can auction a few cars can pick up a MANPADS, it's odd that more of them haven't been used for terrorist purposes.

http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/asmp/MANPADS.html

Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) Proliferation

There are an estimated 500,000 MANPADS in the world today, many thousands of which are thought to be on the black market and therefore accessible to terrorists and other non-state actors.8 MANPADS are attractive to terrorists and insurgents because they are:
•lethal—the history of MANPADS usage by guerrillas and terrorists underscores the efficacy of these weapons against both civilian and military targets. Estimates of deaths resulting from MANPADS attacks on civilian aircraft range from 500 to 1000.9 While most of these deaths were from attacks on smaller aircraft, the Congressional Research Service identified 5 cases in which large civilian turbojet aircraft were targeted. In two of the five cases, the outcome was catastrophic - all people on board were killed.10 ◦Insurgent groups seek MANPADS because they are effective against attack helicopters and other aircraft that are used in counter-insurgency operations. During the Soviet occupations of Afghanistan, rebels used U.S.-supplied Stinger missiles to damage or destroy hundreds of aircraft, degrading the threat from Soviet airpower.

http://eurasianhub.com/2013/03/23/ma...tion-in-syria/

Of course the most recent proliferation of MANPADs and other arms came from the collapse of the Qaddafi Regime.

MANPADs Proliferation in Syria

Currently in Libya we are engaged in the most extensive effort to combat the proliferation of MANPADS in U.S. history. But before I talk about Libya, let me first talk a bit about why we are so focused on this threat.

http://killerapps.foreignpolicy.com/...they_get_there

One of the most disturbing things about this development, according to Schroeder. is that these weapons likely smuggled into the country via the black market. The Syrian military is not believed to have had SA-24s and the sale of such weapons is supposed to be strictly regulated.

Interestingly, there are reports that SA-24s were smuggled out of Libya in during or immediately after the war to oust Muammar al Gaddafi in 2011 and ended up in the hands of militants in Gaza and Syria's Levantine neighbor, Lebanon.

http://www.ibtimes.com/libya-armed-d...on-war-1311035

Libya, Armed And Dangerous: Piles Of Weapons Fuel Illicit Exportation Of War

Some Libyan weapons went even farther afield, and MI6 officials have reportedly warned UK Prime Minister David Cameron that Libya has become a “Tesco” for terrorists. But whether the Libyan arsenal actually amounts to 1 million tons is impossible to say.

They have the weapons for those who have the money. Brothers in arms and all that, but hey there is still a profit to be made.

http://news.yahoo.com/news-summary-c...153105655.html

News Summary: Civilian planes shot down by MANPADS

Since 1975, 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by MANPADS, causing at least 28 crashes and more than 800 deaths around the world, according to the U.S. State Department. Here are some incidents involving commercial planes.