US lawmakers voted yesterday to authorize training and arming of Syrian rebels to combat IS militants, a crucial step in President Barack Obama´s bid to thwart extremism surging across Iraq and Syria.
Despite misgivings by war-weary Democrats that the move could open the door to full-blown American military intervention in the Middle East, and concern by conservatives that the plan falls short of what is needed to defeat the self styled “Islamic State” (IS) terror outfit, the House of Representatives voted 273 to 156 to approve Obama´s train-and-equip plan.
The measure was included as an amendment to a stop-gap federal spending measure which also easily passed the House. The overall bill now shifts to the Senate, where leaders are confident it will passed today and head to the president for his signature.
The president and his chief congressional rival, House Speaker John Boehner, both hailed the vote as an important initial step forward in taking on IS, with Obama calling on the Senate to greenlight the measure as part of his “comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.”
