WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday requested $500 million to help train and equip vetted rebel groups in Syria as part of a $1.5 billion Regional Stabilization Initiative to deal with the growing instability from the four-year crisis.
The request is part of a $65.8 billion request for the special war fund known as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) that fills in what had until now been a blank placeholder in President Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2015. The Regional Stabilization Initiative, which must still be approved by the House and Senate, is part of a $5 billion counterterrorism partnership fund that the president announced during his commencement address at West Point last month.