The Obama administration is seeking a waiver for war funds that would allow it to send aid to groups suspected of “gross human rights violations.”
Congress has been sent a proposal for $1.6 billion to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces, but the White House wants funding to be exempt from 1997’s Leahy Law, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
The funding request is part of a larger $5.6 billion package the Obama administration seeks for its military operations against the Islamic State group, AP reported.
The Leahy Law, which is named after Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, includes actions such as murder, torture and extrajudicial imprisonment as examples of “gross human rights violations,” AP reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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