U.S. lawmakers approve amendments to the Pentagon's Syria budget. What was included?
The US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has approved a package of fundamental amendments to the Pentagon's draft defense budget related to Syria, which was introduced by US Rep. Joe Wilson.
Wilson explained through his official account on the "X" platform that the new amendments focused on two strategic axes, the first is concerned with the file of "Russian military bases in Syria" and the relentless work to reduce Moscow's influence, while the second axis focuses on supporting "the professionalism and capabilities of the Syrian security and defense forces" in the new era.
Under the first legislative requirement, the Committee requested the Ministry of Defence to submit a detailed security report by 31 December 2026 to identify future coordination frameworks.
The parliamentary amendment outlined the areas for drafting the requested report, including a comprehensive assessment of the plans and efforts made by the Ministry of Defense to work with the new Syrian government to curb Russian influence and secure the withdrawal of Moscow's forces from the Hmeimim air bases and the Tartus naval bases.
The lawmakers demanded an assessment of the threats posed by Russian forces to US forces stationed at Turkey's Incirlik base, and to examine whether Russian bases serve as a logistical tool to supply weapons to Iranian proxies in the region, as well as their role in facilitating the transfer and recruitment of Syrian, African and foreign elements to participate in Russia's war against Ukraine, while providing a documentary description of the extent to which these bases previously contributed to supporting the repression of the Syrian people during the era of the ousted regime.
Rehabilitation of the Syrian Army
The Second Legislative Amendment affirmed Congressional support for the goals of U.S. policy aimed at establishing a stable, terrorism-free Syrian state that lives in peace with its neighbors, and protects all its ethnic and religious minorities without discrimination.
The committee explicitly supported Syria's efforts to integrate brigade-sized units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the formal structure of the Syrian army, with senior leadership positions and positions of parallel and similar influence to SDF leaders within the Ministry of Defense in Damascus.
In this regard, the Committee directed the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence for Policy Affairs, in coordination with the Director of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, to submit an assessment report to the Armed Forces Committee by January 31, 2027 on the feasibility of building the institutional capacity of the Syrian forces.
The directive aimed to measure the extent to which existing U.S. security cooperation authorities can be employed to organize seminars, workshops, and advanced training courses led by the Department of Defense to raise professionalism, legal training on the laws of war, international human rights standards, the rule of law, and civilian oversight of the military. The US National Council discussed mechanisms to support the Syrian forces approved as multi-sectarian and multi-ethnic forces, in parallel with the Senate's approval of a previous financial support for the SDF worth $130 million.