For the first time in the two-year push to topple President Bashar Assad, the United States said Thursday, Feb. 28, that it will send food and medicine directly to armed Syrian rebels.

But the announcement fell far short of rebel calls for anti-aircraft missiles and the imposition of a no-fly zone, and it left many members of the opposition dissatisfied. Even a European agreement to amend its arms embargo to allow rebels access to non-lethal military equipment and armored vehicles on condition that they be used only to protect civilians failed to calm their anger. "Unfortunately, as always, the West's promises are smaller than its actions," said Samir Nashar, a businessman from Aleppo and a founding member of the Syrian Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, the umbrella group set up last year at the United States' behest.