President Obama is making sure Congress is a partner in the escalation of U.S. involvement in the bloody Syrian civil war with a vote to approve funds to train and equip about 5,000 Syrian anti-Islamic State, anti-Assad fighters over the next year.
One key problem is making certain any congressional authority does not restrict the program by setting unworkable limitations on which Syrian fighters can participate.
In June 2013, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill that authorized the president to provide arms and military training to the Syrian opposition. However, the bill contained provisions that said, Only units and entities that have gone through a thorough, statutorily-required vetting process by the U.S. government would be eligible for such assistance, according to the committees report on the bill.
Those vetting provisions required U.S. officials to assess whether the units and individuals met certain detailed and specific criteria on human rights and terrorism, as well as whether they demonstrate clear support for civilian rule, cooperate on international counterterrorism and non-proliferation efforts, and are committed to regional stability, among other things, according to the report.
It wasnt clear how other than just asking the Syrians U.S. officials could determine who met those criteria.
The measure also required the Defense Department to report whether Syrian groups receiving military equipment were in adherence to U.S. chain of custody requirements a provision clearly related to the millions of dollars worth of U.S.-provided weapons reported missing in the past by special inspectors general in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to current and former Pentagon officials, these provisions, had the Senate panels bill become law, would have created almost impossible legal requirements for U.S. officials to meet during a brutal civil war in vetting Syrian fighters and tracking weapons.
Up to now, the president, along with many top military and intelligence officials, have believed any such train-and-equip program would not be successful until the hundreds of Syrian armed groups mostly various Sunni factions united against Syrian President Bashar al-Assads army.
That hasnt happened. Rather, the Free Syrian Army has struggled to unite groups while jihadists such as the al-Qaeda-connected Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State grew stronger.
Publicly, the Obama administration began in February 2013 to provide $60million in nonlethal aid to the Free Syrian Army. At the same time Washington initiated a modest CIA covert program for training vetted Syrian moderates in Jordan, which did not require public congressional support. Since then, 1,000 or more Syrians are reported to have received that training. CIA officials, however, will not discuss the vetting process.
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Obama looking for Congress in the fight against the Islamic State