Obama seeks $500 million from Congress to train 'moderate' Syrian rebels to fight ISIS
US President makes request to Congress for funds in bid to stabilize opposition held territory and counter growing assault by ISIS in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUS President Barack Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry.(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Obama administration has made a request to congress for $500 million to use in the training and arming of 'moderate' Syrian rebels to fight the growing threat posed by ISIS in Syria and in Iraq, reported The Guardian on Saturday.According to the report, the US has, up until now, only provisioned specific rebel forces in Syria with intelligence aid and small arms or missiles while Gulf states have armed various rebel groups to fight the Assad led Syrian regime, or other rebel groups. Now the US looks to seriously fund a rebel force to fight the fundamentalist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).US National Security Adviser Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden stated that executive office's request for aid would, "Help defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control, facilitate the provision of essential services, counter terrorist threats, and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement."The Guardian stated that any possible training of Syrian forces would most likely take place in neighboring Jordan, where the US currently trains its allies in Iraq as US President Barack Obama laid out in his speech at the West Point military academy where he stated that the US would seek to help foreign forces fight terrorists themselves.
