OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: House approves Syria aid in bipartisan vote

THE TOPLINE: The House voted 273-156 on Wednesday to grant President Obama the authority to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The “yes” vote included 115 Democrats and 159 Republicans, majorities from both parties. Eighty-five Democrats and 71 Republicans voted “no.”

{mosads}The Syria language was offered as an amendment to a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

The measure was introduced by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and backed by congressional leaders in both parties, but the administration still faced a tough sell.

Rank-and-file members in both parties expressed concerns the measure would open the door to broader military action and questioned the strategy of sending arms and aid to rebel groups.

The measure, though, places limits on the administration’s authority. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel must notify lawmakers at least 15 days before commencing any training of Syrian rebels and would have to ensure all fighters being trained in the program receive background checks.

The Pentagon must also provide updates to Congress every 90 days. The amendment explicitly does not authorize the broad use of military force against ISIS. Obama is still relying on a 2001 authorization for the war on terror to carry out airstrikes against the group.

“The president requested this authority and — after we shaped it to include robust oversight mechanisms — the House gave it to him. I hope the Senate quickly follows suit,” McKeon said in a statement.

“While we voted to approve the authority in large numbers, none of us believe that this program alone can achieve the President’s objective to  ‘degrade and destroy’ ISIS, according to McKeon, who has called for U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq.

A more “robust strategy will be required from the president to do that,” he added. “I hope that, with the support of Congress and the American people, he adopts one.”

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration was “gratified” by the vote.

“I think we’re gratified by the bipartisan show of support for the president’s strategy to make sure we are ramping up our support for Syrian opposition fighters so we can make sure they are taking the fight to [ISIS] on the ground in their country,” he said in an interview with CNN.

 

OBAMA: NO GROUND TROOPS. Earlier on Wednesday, Obama again stressed he would not commit U.S. ground troops in the fight against ISIS.

“I will not commit you, and the rest of our Armed Forces, to fighting another ground war in Iraq,” he said during remarks at MacDill Air Force Base, the home of the U.S. Central Command.

“It is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries future,” he added.

The declaration came ahead of the House vote on Syria and one day after Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told Senate lawmakers that it was possible conditions in Iraq could degrade to the point that he would recommend sending U.S. soldiers in to fight ISIS.

The president’s comments, which followed a meeting with top military commanders in charge of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, may have helped calm anxious Democrats wary of committing to a new military effort overseas.

Obama insisted any U.S. servicemembers in Iraq would only “support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists.”

“We cannot do for the Iraqis what they must do for themselves.”

 

US WON’T ‘GO IT ALONE’ AGAINST ISIS, KERRY SAYS. Secretary of State John Kerry sought to reassure Senate lawmakers that the U.S. would not “got it alone” against ISIS.

“Our strategy is centered on a global coalition,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The United States will not go it alone. And that is why we are building a coalition, a global coalition.”

Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), ranking Republican on the committee, knocked the administration’s plan to train and equip Syrian rebels, saying the initiative could take years to bear fruit.

“We’re talking about a multi-year process. We’re talking about decades,” he said.

Lawmakers questioned the commitments from other nations in the anti-ISIS alliance.

Kerry aimed to assure lawmakers that the U.S. had the support of some Arab countries, saying one nation already pledged to help conduct air strikes against the terror group. 

“We don’t need every country to engage in that kind of military action, and frankly we are not asking them, and we don’t want every country to do that,” he told the panel.

“When we say global coalition, we mean it,” Kerry said.

 

BENGHAZI PROBE STARTS. The House select committee investigating the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, convened publicly for the first time on Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton and the 2016 White House presidential contest overshadowed the event, even as committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) defended the panel and insisted it would rise about politics.

“Some question the need for this committee,” said Gowdy. “I respect your right to disagree, but the mark of a professional, indeed the mark of character, is to do a good job even if you do not think the task should have been assigned in the first place.”

The panel is Congress’s eighth investigation into the deadly assault.

Democrats have portrayed the GOP’s Benghazi panel as a “political stunt” aimed at generating negative publicity for Clinton, who was secretary of State when the attack occurred and is the presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2016.

“I sincerely hope the select committee will stay on the course of constructive reform and keep this goal as our north star,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the panel’s top Democrat, said in his opening statement.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), though, charged that Clinton tampered with the Independent Accountability Review Board that studied what went wrong in Benghazi.

He also lambasted the State Department for not implementing a key recommendation from a best practices board to boost security.

“I mean, talk about the arrogance of the State Department,” he said.

  

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

—NY man charged with attempt to aid ISIS

—Robert Gates: Obama will need ground troops

—Officials: Al Qaeda ‘extremely active’ in Yemen and Somalia

—Kaine offers bill to authorize force

—Rubio makes argument for robust military

 

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