U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV.) conveyed his opposition to President Barack Obama's plan to arm the rebels in Syria, saying he is willing to implement a government shutdown over the vote.

Manchin said that shelling out US$500 million to arm Syrian rebels who fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is not a good idea, CNN reported.

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"At the end of the day, most of the arms that we give to people are used against us," Manchin told CNN. "Most of the people we train turn against us."

Although voting on the Syria strategy is expected to be conducted after the November elections, lawmakers could start voting this week on a funding bill that would link government funding to authorize a measure to arm the Syrian opposition.

The present funding of the government will only last until the end of this month. In the absence of new legislation for that, many of the government services will have to be shut down, the report explained.

Manchin expressed his opposition to the measure by and said passing a legislation to tie government funding to the provision of arms for Syrian rebels is "atrocious." He firmly said he will vote against the policy.

He might get criticized for voting for a government shutdown, but the Republican senator would rather do that than approve a measure that might involve the U.S. in a war for many years, the report relayed.

Manchin said he decided to vote against the funding bill after he discussed the matter with military experts and attended classified meetings with the country's top security officials, The Washington Post stated.

Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who seeks re-election this year, also has the same opinion with Manchin. Begich is concerned that providing arms for the Syrian rebels to fight against ISIL would backfire on the U.S.

Manchin, who is not running for re-election, is on his first term as senator and has often opposed policies on expansion of U.S. military operations in other countries.

TagsJoe Manchin, Syrian rebels, ISIL, government shutdown, anti-ISIL strategy