By authorizing the arming of Syrian rebels known to be led by members of al-Qaeda, is Obama violating the National Defense Authorization Act? President Obama OKs Shipment of Arms to Al-Qaeda in Syria The New American 14 June 2013 President Obama has given the green light to the shipping of weapons from the United States to opposition forces in Syria. In a statement released by Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, the White House claims that “our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin.” The Syrian...