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US President Barack Obama has requested $500 million from Congress to train and arm militants fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“While we continue to believe that there is no military solution to this crisis and that the United States should not put American troops into combat in Syria, this request marks another step toward helping the Syrian people,” Caitlin Hayden, the national security spokeswoman, said in a statement.
If approved, the program would supplement a covert train-and-assistance program run by US intelligence agencies.
The Senate has already authorized to provide equipment, supplies, and training services to the anti-Damascus militants.
The money can “help defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control and facilitate the provision of essential services, counter terrorist threats, and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement,” the Obama administration said in its budget request to Congress Thursday.
Washington has been openly supporting the armed opposition in Syria both financially and militarily in the years-long conflict that ravaged the Arab nation.
The program is part of a broader $65.8 billion overseas operations request that the administration sent to Congress, the Associated Press reported.
The package includes $1 billion to help stabilize nations bordering Syria that are struggling with the effects of the civil war.
It also formalizes a request for a previously announced $1 billion to strengthen the US military presence in Central and Eastern Europe.
Source: Press TV