Senate

Senators want details of Syria train-and-equip review

by Jordain Carney - 09/25/15 5:08 PM ET

A pair of bipartisan senators is pushing Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to brief them on the administration’s review of the Syrian train-and-equip effort, as the program comes under congressional fire.

Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) sent a letter to Carter on Friday amid reports that the administration is reviewing the program.

{mosads}”We fully support an expeditious review of the current approach, and ask that you provide us a briefing on the results of the deliberation, including a description of changes that will be made,” they said.

The letter comes as the train-and-equip program — meant to train moderate Syrian fighters to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — has been under increasing congressional scrutiny.

Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, on the program during a hearing earlier this month.

The two senators noted in their letter on Friday that while they appreciated Austin’s “frank” answers, the “troubling state of the program calls into question its role in our counter-ISIL operations.”

The Pentagon also denied reports earlier this week that U.S.-trained Syrian rebels defected with their weapons to the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s Syria affiliate.

The reports followed U.S. Central Command’s announcement that approximately 70 U.S.-trained Syrian rebels re-entered Syria with weapons and equipment over the weekend.

The senators added on Friday that they want the briefing to include why the Defense Department believes President Obama currently has the “necessary authority for U.S. forces to engage Bashar al-Assad’s forces in support of Syrian rebels.”

The administration began airstrikes against ISIS more than a year ago, but Congress has yet to pass legislation authorizing the war.

While Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) have pledged to try to find a path forward on an authorization for the use of military force against the terrorist group, lawmakers have struggled to overcome a multitude of political and policy hurdles.

Tags Ben Cardin Bob Corker Claire McCaskill Deb Fischer