The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Congress was sending a message when it voted to train and equip Syrian rebels to combat the Islamic State before heading home, likely until after the November midterms.
That statement, said Rep. Ed Royce, was probably that they will not sign off on sending in ground troops as part of the operation.
“I think that a lot of this is probably a statement by members that they’re not going to give the president authorization, or any president, authorization to put U.S. combat troops into that theater of operation,” Mr. Royce, California Republican, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Mr. Obama has repeatedly said that U.S. ground troops will not have a combat mission in the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
“I mean, that’s a reality is that there is a feeling that what the president is asking for right now is to aid a group that from a humanitarian standpoint is being attacked by ISIL,” Mr. Royce said. “And that’s a different issue than starting down that road for authorization of use of force, which then could lead to the slippery slope.
“Congress would not send in the 82nd Airborne, and that’s the point, and they’re transmitting that message,” he continued. “And second, that’s not bad for the Arab world to see, either, because this isn’t our fight. It is their fight.”
Congressional leaders have indicated that there could be a debate on a broader authorization for military force in the operation to destroy the terrorist group after the November elections.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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