a handful of CIA operatives

"Former CIA officer Reuel Marc Gerecht, who is now a scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said Friday that the agency has only a handful of operatives working on the Turkish side of the Syrian border, helping allies who want to give the rebels aid identify which groups are legitimate.  The agency has distributed encrypted radios to the rebels to help them coordinate their attacks. Gerecht has called for the White House to initiate a covert CIA operation inside Syria, to help arm the rebels with weaponry able to take down the helicopter gunships menacing Syrian towns." (thanks Keval)