In an interview with Germany’s Spiegel Magazine, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told the publication that his country is prepared to arm forces fighting the Syrian government with Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).
By Mike1979 Russia (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
“Yes. We believe that introducing surface-to-air missiles in Syria is going to change the balance of power on the ground. It will allow the moderate opposition to be able to neutralize the helicopters and aircraft that are dropping chemicals and have been carpet-bombing them, just like surface-to-air missiles in Afghanistan were able to change the balance of power there. This has to be studied very carefully, however, because you don’t want such weapons to fall into the wrong hands.”
What could go wrong?