House GOP Bill Would Let Obama Arm Syria Rebels, With Limits

Would Require Pentagon to Give Regular Updates on Operation

Faced with growing unease among the rank-and-file of both parties, the House Republican bill giving President Obama authority to arm and train “moderate” Syrian rebels includes several limits the administration did not expect.

The bill will insist the Pentagon keep Congress updated on the situation every 90 days, including both details on the training operations and a list of every rebel they are training along with their background information.

Hawks are warning the demand for names could make it harder for the US to recruit people, though perhaps the even bigger problem facing the administration is a demand for regular reports on what happened to equipment provided to them.

The Obama Administration has been arming the “vetted moderate” rebels for quite some time, and the evidence suggests that large amounts of the arms provided are showing up in the hands of ISIS.

This shouldn’t be surprising, since the commanders openly admit to be allied with ISIS, and just got done signing a non-aggression pact aimed at keeping both sides focusing on the rebellion against Assad.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.