Will campaign against Islamic State unleash wave of repression?
Human rights advocates on and off Capitol Hill are worried about giving Arab leaders a blank check to go after those they deem "terrorists."
Lawmakers and human rights activists are increasingly concerned that the rush to create a grand coalition against the Islamic State (IS) could empower authoritarian regimes across the Middle East.
The issue has received scant attention in recent weeks as Secretary of State John Kerry has traveled the world in search of allies to combat a group Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has warned is "beyond anything that we've seen."
As President Barack Obama prepares to unveil his strategy for dealing with IS, however, notes of caution are being raised on and off Capitol Hill about the risks of launching a new global war on terrorists.
"I do think countries have used that label — I think we've done that, too, of people here when we've wanted to suppress dissent," said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel on human rights. "And so I'm going to be very interested in who's going to be a part of the mix."
