Congress OKs sending arms to Syrian rebels

WASHINGTON

- In the heat of an election campaign, Congress cleared the way last night for the U.S. military to train and equip Syrian rebels for a war against Islamic State militants, reluctant ratification of a new strategy that President Obama outlined barely a week ago.

The 78-22 Senate vote sent Obama legislation that also provides funding for the government after the end of the budget year on Sept. 30, eliminating any threat of a shutdown. The House approved the bill on Wednesday.

In an appearance at the White House soon after the vote, Obama said he was pleased that a majority of both Republicans and Democrats had supported the legislation. "I believe we're strongest as a nation when the president and Congress work together," he said. Noting the killing of two Americans by the Islamic State group, he said that "as Americans we do not give in to fear" and would not be put off by such brutal tactics.

Obama's general plan is to have U.S. troops train Syrian rebels at camps in Saudi Arabia, a process that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said could take a year.

The president already has said he will use existing authority to have the Pentagon deploy airstrikes against Islamic fighters in Syria as well as in Iraq.

Yesterday's vote created new fault lines for this fall's elections for control of the Senate as well as the 2016 White House race.

"Intervention that destabilizes the Middle East is a mistake. And yet, here we are again, wading into a civil war," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. laying down a marker for Republican primaries still more than a year away.

Sen. Mark Begich, in a difficult re-election campaign, said, "I disagree with my president" on the wisdom of having the U.S. military become involved. "It is time for the Arab countries to step up and get over their regional differences," the Alaska Democrat said.

Combining approval for aid to the rebels with funds to prevent a government shutdown into a single vote made it difficult to measure support for Obama's new military mission. Begich, for example, opposed arming the rebels, but voted for the bill.

For a second straight day, the administration dispatched top-ranking officials to reassure lawmakers - and the public - that no U.S. ground combat operation was in the offing. Obama made the same promise in an address to the nation eight days ago laying out his new policy - and repeated it last night. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told one House committee that Obama "is not going to order American combat ground forces into that area."

Appearing before a different panel, Secretary of State John Kerry said the administration understands the danger of a "slippery slope." The term was widely used a half-century ago as the nation slid ever deeper into a Vietnam war that left more than 50,000 U.S. troops dead.