President Barack Obama is closer to presenting a plan to directly arm Syrian rebels, but he still faces Congressional opposition.
“The House Intelligence Committee has very strong concerns about the strength of the administration’s plans in Syria and its chances for success,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said in a statement Monday. “After much discussion and review, we got a consensus that we could move forward with what the administration’s plans and intentions are in Syria consistent with committee reservations.”
The huge cost of arming rebels and the risks of American involvement are working against the idea. “It is no less than an act of war,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey wrote Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He also stated that the United States has learned from the past 10 years “that it is not enough to simply alter the balance of military power without careful consideration of what is necessary in order to preserve a functioning state.”