Obama Requests Money to Train ‘Appropriately Vetted’ Syrian Rebels

The New York Times reports that President Obama has asked Congress for $500 million to train “appropriately vetted” moderate Syrian rebels, in the wake of a surge through Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“The training program would be a significant step for a president who has consistently resisted providing military aid to the rebels in the conflict in Syria, and has warned of the dangers of American intervention,” writes Helene Cooper. “But military and State Department officials indicated that there were not yet any specific programs to arm and train the rebels that the money would fund, nor could administration officials specify which moderate Syrian opposition members they intended to train and support, or where they would be trained.”

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement: “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 towards helping the Syrian people defend themselves against regime attacks.” She also said the money would help the opposition fight extremists “who find safe haven in the chaos.”

Maliki Confirms Syrian Planes Have Bombed ISIS Positions

The Guardian, via wires, reports that embattled Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday that he welcomed the Syrian government’s alleged air strikes on Sunni militant positions in Syria and Iraq, as it left both countries “winners.”

Syrian jets hit the Iraqi border town of Qaim on Tuesday, along with Raqqa, the extremist group’s Syrian stronghold.

“Details are, however, sketchy,” the Guardian writes. “The White House spokesman Joshua Earnest earlier said Washington had ‘no reason to dispute’ reports that Syria had struck within Iraqi territory but Maliki told the BBC that Bashar Assad’s air force had stuck to its side of the border.”

In an interview with BBC Arabic, he said that “There was no coordination involved, but we welcome this action. We welcome any Syrian strike against ISIS, because this group targets both Iraq and Syria … But we didn’t make any request from Syria. They carry out their strikes and we carry out ours. The final winners are our two countries.”

Meanwhile, Syrian state media has denied the attacks in Iraq. A government source, it said, “refuted allegations made by malicious media outlets who claimed that the Syrian air force shelled areas within the borders of Iraq.”

What Happened to the 186 Kurdish students Kidnapped by ISIS in Northern Syria?

The Guardian also reports on the now-overshadowed, monthlong ordeal of the 186 Kurdish high school students kidnapped by ISIS forces on May 30, while traveling by bus from Kobani to Aleppo to sit for exams.

Though some have escapes, “scores of classmates, Kurds from northern Syria, remain captive,” the paper writes. “Escape is not to be taken lightly: one ISIS fighter warned them that anyone caught trying to leave would be beheaded.”

One escapee named Mustafa says: “They asked us whether we wanted to join jihadis or not, to join ISIS. No one did. If the students were loud or chaotic, they were beaten with an electrical cable. Ten boys were beaten every day. But most of us were well-behaved, to not get beaten. Some of the boys were crying, some turned yellow with fear. They showed us a documentary film from Iraq: of people being slaughtered.”

The paper says that this has gone largely unreported in the wider world. “The students needed to travel from the Kobani enclave on the Turkish border to Aleppo to take their exams, as required by Syria’s education system,” it says. “The journey is perilous, but they reached Aleppo without incident. On the way home, however, a convoy of about 10 minibuses containing 186 boys aged 14-16 was stopped and taken to a religious school in Minbej, for training in the Quran and jihad. The vast majority are still there.”

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