Obama's request for Syrian aid runs into trouble
House members raise concerns as senators take up spending bill.
President Barack Obama's request for $500 million to train and equip vetted Syrian rebel groups is running into resistance from key lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee on July 16 criticized the administration for failing to make the case for the assistance during a hearing on the president's FY2015 budget request for so-called Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). Both Republicans and Democrats are worried that weapons could fall into the hands of Islamists battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, just as army equipment was captured by the Islamic State (formerly knows as the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS) in next-door Iraq.
“For the United States Congress to vote to authorize a train-and-support mission for rebel forces for Syria is a big damn deal," said ranking member Adam Smith, D-Calif., who supports the mission. "If you’re going to sell it, sell it. Because if you don’t, there ain’t no way we’re going to pass it.”
Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif., shared similar misgivings.
