WASHINGTON — A key GOP senator is meeting with White House and Pentagon officials about the wording of a measure to legally authorize US operations against the Islamic State.
New Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters on Wednesday that he met the previous day with military officials inside the Pentagon on Tuesday and also spoke to the White House's hand-pick coordinator for the fight, retired Marine Gen. John Allen.
Corker did not lay out a potential time frame under which he would like hold hearings, craft legislation and hold a vote in committee.
In mid-December, the panel, then chaired by New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, approved an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) for the Islamic State fight.
That process included a lengthy hearing, during which Secretary of State John Kerry said made clear the White House opposed provisions supported by his former Democratic colleagues that would have slapped restrictions on what US ground troops could do in Iraq and Syria. For the latest national security news from Capitol Hill, go to CongressWatch."I talked yesterday with the White House and we are seeking their contribution language-wise to what they feel would mitigate their concerns," Corker saidtold CongressWatch. "I assume it'll go fine. We'll see. I don't think this is an issue they really want to deal with. I think a big part of it is just the complexities in Syria."
The Menendez-written AUMF, which expired with the 113th Congress and never reached the chamber floor, would have only authorized "the use of the United States Armed Forces for the purpose of ground combat operations except as necessary."
The former chairman's measure would have allowed the use of American ground troops only to rescue other US forces or citizens, as well as to conduct missions like intelligence collection, enabling "kinetic strikes" and providing "other forms of advice and assistance to forces fighting [Islamic State] in Iraq or Syria."
Democrats — along with tea party member darling Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — want any AUMF to include limitations on the Islamic State conflict. This camp is concerned about America being sucked into another protracted ground occupation like Iraq or Afghanistan.
Republicans are a handful of votes shy of the 60 needed to end debate on legislation, meaning Democrats who feel strongly about the ground forces language could mount a filibuster.
For their part, Republicans are leery of, as several said during that hearing, "tying the president's hands" in conducting this or any military operation. Kerry and the White House, in a twist, are siding with the GOP.
It now falls on Corker to craft something that can pass the new Republican-controlled Senate.
"Obviously, the elements we need is some testimony, especially the Syria component and the plausible way forward," Corker told reporters. "I think we ... understand how we achieve our goals [in Iraq]. It's the Syria component, I think that needs to be more fleshed out. That's been our goal this week, and I want the whole committee to have access to that."
Asked if that testimony might happen this month, Corker said he is unsure. "We're working on that right now," Corker said. "I've had no resistance in conversation. Actually getting something scheduled, though, when people are here and actually giving testimony can be another thing."
The White House's position policy on Syria has long been that its embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, must step down. But, several years later, he remains in power.
"The difficulty they've had is, if you use their initial stated outcome … there wasn't a plausible path to get there," Corker said. "I'm not sure a lot of progress has been made in that regard."
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