Although Obama repeatedly called for Bashar al Assad’s ouster, the U.S. was not at war with Syria. Assad was still the sovereign leader of the country, and aiding the rebels would be akin to backing an insurgency. Lawyers warned that it could resemble President Reagan’s policy of backing the contras in Nicaragua in the 1980s—a move that the International Court of Justice called a “breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another state.” So Obama worked quietly through the CIA, which worked alongsisde allied Gulf countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Although the CIA will not disclose the number of rebels it has trained or armed, the Free Syrian Army chief of staff Gen. Abdul-Ilah al Bashir claims 40,000 rebels are currently receiving support from the U.S. and its partners.