Why didn’t we learn our lesson when we armed jihadist factions in Afghanistan during the war with the Soviets? The blowback from that is still being felt.

Via Bloomberg News:

Secretary of State John Kerry met today with leaders of the Syrian opposition, after indicating the U.S. is preparing to distribute more aid to rebels seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Kerry, who is participating in a conference of the Group of Eight foreign ministers in London, heard demands for weapons from officials led by Ghassan Hitto, the newly elected interim prime minister of the opposition, according to a U.S. official who attended the meeting and asked not to be named discussing diplomatic matters.

At stake is whether the U.S. will move beyond food and medical supplies to give fighters items such as body armor and night-vision goggles.

While the top U.S. diplomat didn’t make any promises to the Syrian opposition, Kerry will resume the conversation at an April 20 meeting in Istanbul of the “Friends of Syria” group of countries, which includes many European and Arab nations, the official said.