Timber Sycamore

Timber Sycamore
Timber Sycamore
	Seal of the CIA
Operational scope	Weapons sales, training of Syrian rebel forces
Location	Eastern Europe, Jordan, Syria
Planned by	United States (CIA)
Target	Ba'athist Syria
Date	2012–2017
Executed by	United States Central Intelligence Agency; Department of Defense; United Kingdom MI6; Jordan Jordanian Armed Forces; General Intelligence Department; Saudi Arabia General Intelligence Presidency; Qatar Qatar State Security;
Outcome	Delivery of thousands of tons of weaponry worth billions of US dollars.; Arms diverted to the Middle East black market; some may have been sold to ISIL.; Criticism of Obama administration for insufficient support to rebel groups.; US-led Syrian Train and Equip Program continues to arm, train, and support the SDF with airstrikes.;

Timber Sycamore was a covert program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the aim of removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power, by supplying weapons, money and training to Syrian opposition groups that fought against government forces in the Syrian Civil War. It was supported primarily by the United Kingdom, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. A significant portion of these weapons ultimately ended up in the hands of extremist groups, most notably ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front.

According to US officials, the program was run by the CIA's Special Activities Division. U.S. President Barack Obama secretly authorized the CIA to begin arming Syrian rebels in 2013. The program became public knowledge in mid-2016.

One consequence of the program was a flood of U.S.-supplied assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades into the Middle East's black market. Critics of the program within the Obama administration viewed it as ineffective and expensive, and raised concerns about the seizure of weapons by Islamist groups, and about U.S.-backed rebels fighting alongside Al-Qaeda affiliates.

In July 2017 U.S. officials stated that Timber Sycamore would be phased out, with funds possibly redirected to fighting ISIS, or to offering rebel forces defensive capabilities.