One reason American officials give for Barack Obama's reluctant decision to arm Syria's rebels is that it will bolster and unify the ranks of the more moderate fighters among those battling President Bashar Assad. The administration says it plans to funnel arms through Selim Idriss, a defected general who heads the political opposition's Supreme Military Council. Yet choosing who gets what and trying to meld the fractious bunch into a coherent body to receive the weaponry will be difficult. For one thing, 27 months into the war, the rebels have so many supply lines that few outsiders know precisely who is at the receiving end (see map on next page).
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