House to put strict controls on US training of Syrian rebels
By Charles Hoskinson | September 16, 2014 | 6:13 am
Louise Slaughter, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, sits next to Rep. James P....
The House appears likely to give President Obama the authority he sought to arm and train Syrian rebels this week, but without the $500 million he sought to pay for it and with strict controls designed to prevent it from being used to introduce U.S. combat troops to the fight.
Leaders of both parties support the measure, which is set for debate starting Tuesday as an amendment to an emergency funding resolution that keeps the government running through Dec. 11.
"I'm pleased that the House will have a debate on at least one portion of the president's plan," said Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., ranking Democrat on the House Rules Committee, which late Monday approved a rule for debate on the funding resolution that barred further amendments.
The amendment allows the Pentagon to accept contributions from foreign governments to finance training of the fighters. The Pentagon has said that the $500 million Obama requested would train 5,000 fighters for a year.
Saudi Arabia has said it would host the program. The kingdom has long lobbied for the U.S. to support moderate Syrian rebels, but U.S. officials have been concerned about rebel ties to Islamist extremists, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Now that the Islamic State has grown in power and seized territory in Iraq, there is a greater willingness in Washington to reconsider that option.
Among the strict oversight requirements is one designed to ensure the rebels being trained have no ties to extremist or terrorist groups, or to Iran, and that U.S.-supplied weapons are not diverted to other users. The amendment requires the Pentagon and State Department to report on the program 15 days before the start of training and submit progress reports every 90 days thereafter.
It also notes that "nothing in this section shall be construed to constitute a specific statutory authorization for the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations wherein hostilities are clearly indicated by the circumstances."
But some members still are concerned about the possibility of "mission creep" and about the Obama administration's insistence it has the authority it needs to broaden the military campaign against the Islamic State from Iraq to Syria. Others, such as Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, are concerned about how the training program fits into a broader strategy to combat the group.
"Doing this piecemeal doesn't seem like the appropriate way to be doing it," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said, noting that there already are U.S. troops in Iraq. "Is anybody here committing to a vote when we come back from recess on a whether or not we're going to approve the military operations that some people are contemplating now?"
"The president did not ask for a wider authorization for use of military force. He did ask for this particular authority," replied Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, vice chairman of Armed Services.
"We're moving this on an expedited timeline" because that's what the president said he needed, Thornberry said.
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