Free Republic

President Barack Obama has authorized using air power to defend a new U.S.-backed fighting force in Syria if it is attacked by Syrian government forces or other groups, raising the risk of the American military coming into direct conflict with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. officials said the decision ended a monthslong debate over the role the American military should play in supporting its few allies on the battlefield in Syria. Administration officials had been deeply concerned that defending the Pentagon-backed force could inadvertently open the first open conflict with the Assad government, which has denounced the U.S....

President Barack Obama has authorized the use of air power to defend a new U.S.-backed fighting force in Syria should it come under attack from Syrian government forces or other groups, officials said, in a move that could increase the risk of the U.S. coming into direct conflict with the Assad regime. The decision ends a months’ long debate over the role the U.S. military should play in supporting its few allies on the battlefield and comes as the U.S. and Turkey discussed joint operations to clear a zone along the Turkish-Syrian border of Islamic State militants. Turkish officials wanted...