Kaine says he believes in Obama's approach to combat ISIL

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said Thursday he believes in the approach President Obama has laid out to combat the Islamic State terrorist group, including plans to arm and train Syrian rebels to aid in the fight.

That proposal, approved by Congress this week, has drawn skepticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Some legislators believe the plan is too limited to be effective while others worry it will end up backfiring.

But Kaine, D-Va, said working with rebel groups in Syria is an important piece of the plan because it gives forces a presence on the ground without sending in U.S. combat troops – something Kaine and others, including Obama, are determined to avoid.

“There needs to be ground action against ISIL, but that ground action is not U.S. troops,” said Kaine, using the federally preferred acronym for the Islamic State, also sometimes referred to as ISIS.

“The ground action needs to be the military and other folks from that region standing up against the ISIL violence in their region. We can’t police a region that won’t police itself.”

In Iraq, the U.S. can work with government security forces and Kurdish militias, Kaine said during a phone interview early Thursday afternoon. But in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad has been criticized for his brutal suppression of dissidents, partnering with opposition forces is the most viable option, he said.

“The prospects of coordinating with [the Syrian government] are essentially zero,” said Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and chair of the Middle East subcommittee on foreign relations. “Because Bashar al-Assad, the dictator who’s running Syria, is treating his people in a very barbaric way and there is zero trust in his willingness to cooperate in a way that would comply with the right humanitarian norms.”

The Congressional endorsement of the partnership with Syrian rebels was rolled into a short-term spending bill that expires in December. Debate on a longer-term authorization is expected after the midterm elections, and Kaine submitted a proposal on that point Wednesday.

Kaine, who for weeks has argued Obama needs Congressional approval to take offensive action against ISIL, has drafted an authorization for use of military force he hopes will help shape the looming debate.

The measure is designed to give narrow and time-limited approval to action against ISIL, while still supporting Obama’s plan, which includes continuing airstrikes and building a multinational coalition of support.

Kaine’s proposal, which would sunset after one year, authorizes training and equipping forces fighting ISIL in Iraq and Syria, including “legitimate, appropriately vetted, non-terrorist opposition groups.”

U.S. involvement would be limited to action against ISIL and associated forces fighting directly alongside ISIL. The language bars deploying U.S. ground troops except for rescue missions or limited counterterrorism operations.

It also rescinds a post-9/11 authorization of force that Obama has cited as justification for his current course. Critics feel the administration’s interpretation of that measure is overly broad.

The new authorization, under Kaine’s proposal, would have to be reviewed and re-upped after the one-year deadline.

“That keeps Congress engaged and doesn’t allow this to become open-ended,” he said.

Kaine’s proposal is one of several that have been submitted. Some, including one from Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf, would give the president broader leeway to act against a wider range of groups.

U.S. military leaders predict the action against ISIL will be a “multi-year effort,” Kaine said, adding he personally views it as a two-stage campaign with success likely to be achieved faster in Iraq – where a new administration promising more inclusive government was recently installed – than in Syria, which is wracked by civil war.

In an Associated Press interview Wednesday, new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi expressed a desire to see the U.S. cooperate with Syria on the anti-ISIL campaign.

Kaine, who in the past has called for military action against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, said that remains a non-starter and his proposal expressly states it should not be construed as condoning any cooperation with the current Syrian government.

“The Syrian phase will be longer and tougher because Bashar al-Assad’s government is disastrous and has brought in many, many foreign fighters and folks from the outside,” he said. “That’s going to take longer. We will not put ground troops there; that would be mistake. But I do think we can help the anti-ISIL opposition grow stronger, and ultimately that will lead to, I hope, a better direction for the future of Syria as well."

###