Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) reacted to the news that the CIA has begun delivering weapons to the Syrain rebels on Twitter:

On Wednesday the Washington Times reported that for the past two weeks the CIA has been delivering “light weapons and other munitions” to the Syrian rebel forces.

The CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures. The shipments began streaming into the country over the past two weeks, along with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear — a flow of material that marks a major escalation of the U.S. role in Syria’s civil war.

It is known that Al Qaeda makes up the strongest factions of the Syrian resistance.  If they are successful at overthrowing Syrian President Assad it is very likely that these Al Qaeda forces will be in the best position to take power.

Amash makes the point that the government is now breaking it’s own laws against aiding terrorists.  If you were to give weapons, aid or any assistance to Al Qaeda you could be arrested and indefinitely detained without trial.  You could also be placed on a secret kill list and executed by drone strike – the outcome for US citizens Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16 year old son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki.

The US government and it’s officials who have given weapons to Syrian rebels are now guilty of breaking the same laws that they used to justify the killing of American citizens without trial.