U.S., other Western, Arab powers to give Syrian rebels air, naval aid DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Washington and other Western and Arab powers plan to give air and naval support to Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime, a British newspaper reported. High-level uniformed-services officers from the United States, Britain, France, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates met privately in London a few weeks ago at the request of British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss providing military training to the rebels and supporting them with air and naval power, The Independent reported Tuesday. The countries concluded the 21-month-old civil war in Syria had reached a tipping point and countries supporting the opposition must help rebel fighters succeed in a final push to defeat President Bashar Assad, the newspaper said. The Western nations are especially concerned about wanting to influence the political shape of the opposition the West hopes will replace Assad, the newspaper said. Jihadist groups among the rebels have steadily gained power and influence due to weapons and money coming from some Persian Gulf states, the newspaper said. This puts secular groups at a severe disadvantage, it said. To counteract that, Western help will be directed at strengthening moderate groups, The Independent said. Washington, London and Paris agreed at the meeting none of their countries would have "boots on the ground" to help the rebels. Training camps could be set up in Turkey, the newspaper said. But even the use of air and maritime forces would be highly contentious and likely to lead to charges from critics similar to those made before the downfall of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi that the West is carrying out regime change by force, The Independent said. Any such military action would also likely take place without U.N. authorization, the newspaper said. Russia and China are highly unlikely to back such a resolution after their experience over Libya where they agreed to a "no-fly zone" only to see it turn into a NATO bombing campaign lasting months. Washington had no immediate comment on the report. Nor did any of the other countries reported at the meeting. French newspaper Le Figaro reported French military advisers already met with Syrian rebel groups across the border in Lebanon. Washington is believed to have stockpiled weapons retrieved in Libya for future supply to Syria, The Independent said. The reported plans come as the U.S. State Department designated an aggressive and successful arm of the rebel forces fighting the Assad regime a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida. The department said Monday the Salafi jihadi paramilitary group Jabhat al-Nusra, or the al-Nusra Front, was tied to al-Qaida in Iraq, formed in reaction to the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq that toppled the regime of secular dictator Saddam Hussein. The designation makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to fund the group. It also sends a warning to Arab states not to back it, The Independent said. Jabhat al-Nusra, which helped capture a military base near Aleppo Monday, is separate from the opposition Free Syrian Army, but many FSA leaders recognize its strength and order their forces to cooperate with it, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported. As with the military support, Washington designated Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist group as part of a new strategy to influence the shape of the opposition. A total of 29 opposition groups signed a petition in support of Jabhat al-Nusra in defiance of Washington. Even mainstream opposition activists expressed anger at the State Department's announcement. "It is terrible timing on the part of the United States," Mulham Jundi, who works with the opposition charity Watan Syria, told the Telegraph. By calling Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists, the U.S. is legitimizing the Syrian regime's bombardment of cities like Aleppo. Now the government can [legitimately] say it is attacking terrorists. The Assad regime has insisted it is fighting foreign terrorists, including some from al-Qaida, who want to replace the secular regime with an Islamic state that will widely persecute minority communities. Syrian activists have dismissed this charge as propaganda, insisting their campaign is nationalistic and aimed solely at removing a vengeful regime.