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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Senate votes to arm, train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS



    Free Syrian Army fighters walk within a trench that was dug near the Al-Zaalaneh checkpoint frontline, Idlib countryside in Syria, Sept. 12, 2014.
    Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

    Senate votes to arm, train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS

    09/18/14 06:37 PM—UPDATED 09/18/14 07:07 PM
    By
    Aliyah Frumin

    The Senate on Thursday approved President Obama’s controversial proposal to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels in effort to defeat the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).


    Senators passed the legislation with 78 to 22 vote. It now goes to Obama to sign into law.


    “I want to thank leaders in Congress for the speed and seriousness with which they approached this issue,” Obama said in brief remarks Thursday evening after the Senate vote.


    Sen. Harry Reid commented on the bipartisan action. “Today, Democrats and Republicans spoke with one voice to tell the ISIS terrorists: we will find you and destroy you,” he said in a statement. “The Senate has passed a strong bill to arm and train vetted Syrian opposition fighters as part of the President’s strategy to destroy ISIS without repeating the mistakes of the past in the Middle East. America will lead a coalition that includes our friends and allies in European and Arab nations in a targeted, strategic mission to destroy ISIS.”


    On Wednesday, the Republican-led House voted in favor of the measure by a 273 to 156 vote, with significant opposition from both parties — 71 Republicans and 85 Democrats voted against it.


    Nonetheless, the green light from Congress is being viewed as a significant foreign policy win for Obama, something the president desperately needs at a time when polls show Americans broadly disapproving of his handling of foreign affairs as the administration grapples with escalating crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.


    The measure, which includes no new money to pay for the operation, was part of a larger spending bill that will fund the U.S. government through Dec. 11 and avoid a partial government shutdown.


    THE ED SHOW, 9/18/14, 5:00 PM ET
    Is it wise to arm Syrian rebels?

    While lawmakers agree that ISIS is a threat to America, several on both sides of the political aisle have expressed concerns that weapons given to the rebels could end up in the hands of terrorists. Others say Obama’s plans do not go far enough while some are concerned about the U.S. getting embroiled in yet another war.Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky called the plan “ludicrous” on the Senate floor before the vote. “No one knows where these arms are going to wind up … We don’t even know who these groups are.” Paul — known for his non-interventionist approach — said “we need to stay the heck out of their civil war … It is their war and they need to fight it.”

    During a heated speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would vote against Obama’s request and described the commander-in-chief’s strategy as “insanity.”


    “The first principle of war is to know your enemy,” he said. “… It is equally important to know our allies and I am not confident we know who our allies are.” While he’s in favor of the recent U.S. airstrikes, Manchin prefers neighboring countries use their forces rather than arming the rebels.


    “We have been at war in that part of the world for the last 13 years. If money and military might could make a difference, it would have by now,” added Manchin.


    Party leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have all backed the plan.


    Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor on Thursday that he too would vote in favor of arming the rebels. He argued the plan is completely different from when Congress in 2002 voted to authorize military action in Iraq, something Levin voted against.


    Unlike 12 years ago, Levin pointed out that the Iraqi government has requested western assistance to battle ISIS and that today there is participation from key Arab countries, and that the ground operation will not be undertaken by the U.S., but by Iraqis, Kurds and Syrians.

    Levin said it will be a “long and a hard” struggle but “we should give it our support.” He added, “We cannot take the place of Iraqis and Syrians. They must purge the position that they have in their countries … but we can help these people get rid of this poison.”

    Congress will adjourn this week to go home and campaign for the midterm elections and will not come back to D.C. until Nov. 12.


    Last week, Obama laid out a four-pronged strategy to defeat ISIS, including increased support to anti-ISIS forces on the ground (ruling out U.S. combat troops), a systematic campaign of airstrikes, improving efforts to cut off ISIS funding and recruiting and continued humanitarian assistance to ISIS victims.


    The U.S. has already engaged in airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. U.S. Central Command announced on Thursday that it conducted two airstrikes in Iraq on Wednesday and Thursday. Those attacks destroyed an ISIS armed vehicle, two ISIS-occupied buildings, an ammunition stockpile and a large ground unit. CENTCOM said it has launched a total of 176 airstrikes in Iraq since the U.S. intervened on Aug. 7.


    Despite an acknowledgement on Tuesday by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey that sending U.S. ground troops into Iraq isn’t out of the question, Obama insisted on Wednesday that U.S. troops won’t have a combat role in Iraq.


    Meanwhile, Australian police on Thursday thwarted an alleged ISIS plot to stage random attacks on the public. Shortly afterward, ISIS released a chilling new video featuring a British man who is believed to be held captive by the terrorist group.

    http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/senate-vo...els-fight-isis

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  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    House approves plan to assist Syrian rebels; Senate votes Thursday

    By Deirdre Walsh, CNN Senior Congressional Producer
    updated 4:36 PM EDT, Thu September 18, 2014



    House approves helping Syrian rebels
    STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    • House approves funding to arm and train anti-ISIS forces in Syria
    • Vote count showed significant opposition to the measure from both parties
    • War veterans on both sides of the aisle argued against the proposal
    • Senate votes Thursday


    Washington (CNN) -- The House on Wednesday approved President Obama's request to arm and train Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS.

    With significant opposition to the proposal in both parties, the vote was 273 -156. More than one third of the House -- 71 Republicans and 85 Democrats -- voted no.


    Many Republicans argue the strategy isn't tough enough to defeat ISIS; many Democrats worry the plan could drag the United States into another long military engagement.


    The proposal would authorize the Pentagon to provide assistance to "appropriately vetted" members of the Syrian opposition and require the administration to give Congress a detailed plan for helping the rebels before that assistance could begin.


    The Senate will vote Thursday on the proposal.


    Earnest: No U.S. troops on the ground


    General doesn't rule out ground forces


    Pelosi: Putin is 'insecure'


    Manchin: I'm voting no on arming rebels


    Brazile: Congress should debate on ISIS

    Dempsey: U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS, if necessary
    House Republican leaders scheduled an extended debate that stretched over two days. Most measures are only discussed for one hour with only a handful of people participating. But since so many House members were elected after Congress weighed in on Iraq, close to 100 Democrats and Republicans came to the House floor to explain what amounted to their first vote on an international conflict.
    It was a debate that highlighted unusual alliances.

    Conservative Republicans who want more aggressive military action joined progressive anti-war Democrats worried about another U.S. intervention and opposed the measure.


    But backing the plan were hawkish GOP members and Democrats who argued the proposal to send Syrian groups into the fight against ISIS would send a message to international partners to join the effort.


    The vote came as an amendment to a spending bill to keep the government funded through mid-December. It was a vote to grant the new authority to President Barack Obama, but didn't include any new money.


    The administration has adequate resources for its current airstrike campaign and the program to assist the rebels in an existing fund covering overseas operations. The measure would let the Pentagon transfer money from that account as needed.


    Notably, some war veterans on both sides of the aisle argued forcefully against giving the new authority to the President.


    Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who fought in Iraq, said the goals of the President's plans to arm Syrians were "unrealistic" and pointing to Iraq and Libya, said sharply, "clearly our leaders have not learned their lessons."


    California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, who fought as a Marine in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said that while he did support arming Syrian rebels last year, the sectarian violence has worsened and now he has "no confidence we are arming the right people."


    But another veteran, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, who flew missions over Iraq, warned that not giving this authority would send a worrisome signal to U.S. allies in the region that are battling the terror group.


    Others argued this was a time to unite behind the President to show the international community that the United States was moving against terrorism.


    The third-ranking House Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, warned "the threat of ISIS is real and growing and it's not just limited to the Middle East."


    The Louisiana congressman said while Congress was giving this authority to the administration, "there's got to be a give and take," and said the provisions added by the GOP would give the legislative body oversight over the new operation with the Syrian moderates.

    Congress is expected to debate a broader war authorization after the midterm elections.

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/17/politi...ess/index.html

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