Is Congress Going To Give President Obama A 'Blank Check" To Fight The Islamic State?

Obama Wants A Blank Check To Fight ISIS—And Congress Is Ready To Give It To Him -- Josh Rogin & Eli Lake, Daily Beast

The Obama administration asked Congress for $5 billion to fight terrorism but offered no details about how the money would be spent. Democrats want to give Obama the money anyway.

Democrats in Congress are ready to give the Obama administration $5 billion in new funding to fight ISIS and other terror groups, despite the fact that the administration has no idea how the money will be spent.

When the president calls for Congress to approve his new counterterrorism fund in his speech Wednesday, it's unlikely he'll mention that for the last four months his administration has stifled calls from inside and outside the government for the White House to specify exactly what the money is for. The White House’s lack of urgency led to some to believe they weren’t actually invested in seeing the fund become a reality, but just wanted to create the appearance of doing something to fight Islamic extremists.

Now, looking for a quick way to pay for what the White House is promising will be a long struggle against ISIS, the fund is back in vogue both inside the administration and on Capitol Hill. Similar to the overall plan to defeat ISIS, details of the fund remain scarce, yet the process is moving forward due of a mix of fear and confusion.

Read more ....

My Comment: When all is said and done .... yes .... Congress is going to give President Obama a blank check to wage war against the Islamic State. The Republicans have always argued that the executive branch should be given some lee-way to engage in conflicts against foes like ISIS .... I do not expect them to change their political philosophy right now. President Obama's Democrats are a different story .... they opposed President Bush and his war plans for the region .... they should do the same with President Obama. But .... President Obama is a Democrat .... and I suspect that most of them are going to "toe-the-line" and give President Obama the mandate that he desires .... even though he has been blunt in declaring that he does not need it.