Trump Authorizes $6.6 Million to Fund Syria’s White Helmets

Funding for Syria 'recovery efforts' was frozen in April

Jason Ditz 

Posted onJune 14, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsSyria, Trump

According to the US State Department, President Trump has signed off on the release of $6.6 million for Syria’s White Helmets, an NGO that operates as a rescue group in certain rebel-held parts of the country.

The White Helmets falsely claims it gets no funding from the US government. In reality the organization gets about 1/3 of its funding from the State Department. This is important because the White Helmets are often the lone source of questionable allegations which support US government allegations against the Syrian government.

Funding for the White Helmets was part of $200 million the Trump Administration froze in April. In May, the State Department said the funding was under “active review.” The funding freeze was done amid President Trump’s talk of withdrawing from Syria.

The State Department announcement that they were unfreezing the $6.6 million came with a statement that they “strongly support” the White Helmets. Officials did not say what would happen to the rest of the $200 million.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/06/14/trump-authorizes-6-6-million-to-fund-syrias-white-helmets/