US 'working through' extent of support for Syrian rebels
The resolution being considered by Congress does not address protection of vetted Syrian rebels against Syrian government forces; nuclear talks with Iran enter decisive phase amid challenges by Republicans in Congress; Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani determines fate of reconciliation in Iraq; Israeli election is verdict on Benjamin Netanyahu.
Kerry says resolution is "ISIL specific"
Obama administration officials said this week that the United States is considering how best to support Syrian rebel forces trained and equipped by the United States, including if these groups are drawn into conflict with Syrian government forces, although the authorization to use military force being considered by Congress does not appear to provide the legal authority to provide such protection.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told reporters March 11, “The forces that we train in Syria, we will have some obligation to support them after they’re trained. … We all understand that. And we’re working through what kinds of support and under what conditions we would do so, to include the possibility that, even though they’re trained and equipped to combat ISIL [the Islamic State (IS)], they could come into contact with forces of the Assad regime.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry, testifying the same day before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the authorization to use force being considered by Congress is “ISIL specific. There are those who wish it would include Assad, but it doesn’t.”
