A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, assigned to the "Sea Horses" of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron Two Six Five (HMM-265), flies near the Iraqi/Syrian Border. Photo: wiki commons.

NY Times  – Not so long ago, Syrians worked to send weapons and fighters into Iraq to help Sunnis fighting a sectarian conflict; suddenly, it is the other way around.

A belated celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on the outskirts of this western Iraqi city on Saturday quickly took on the trappings of a rally for Syria’s rebels. Young boys waved the old green, black and white flag Syria adopted in the 1930s after declaring independence from the French. Others collected money to send aid and weapons to the fighters opposing President Bashar al-Assad’s government across the border.

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