NOVANEWS
The House Armed Services Committee marked up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2014 fiscal year last week. The bill (H.R. 1960) was reported out of committee with a 59-2 vote and included several provisions relating to the Middle East. Among these provisions is a Sense of Congress which reaffirms U.S. interests in Egypt despite lingering concerns regarding the Muslim Brotherhood’s commitment to “a pluralistic, democratic Egypt.” Section 1242 also expresses support for continued military assistance to Egypt and requires a comprehensive report from the Department of State that outlines details for said support.
Section 1205 states that the Secretaries of Defense and State “may provide assistance to the military and civilian response organizations of Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey, and other countries in the region of Syria in order for such countries to respond effectively to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction in Syria and the region.” Assistance is defined as supplies, training and equipment. Section 1251, which also pertains to Syria, urges the President to “fully consider all courses of action to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power,” and requires President Obama to consider “the provision of lethal aid and relevant operational training to vetted Syrian opposition forces.” The Department of Defense should also analyze the risks of the provision of such aid and training.
With regards to Iran, section 1232 recognizes that “maintaining only one aircraft carrier battle group in the Arabian Gulf constrains United States’ options and could put at risk the ability to have diversified platforms from which to defend the Arabian Gulf and, if necessary, to conduct military operations to prevent Iran from threatening the United States,” or its allies with nuclear weapons. Therefore Congress finds that the U.S. should construct and sustain a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers, battle force ships, and “at least a two aircraft carrier battle group presence in the Arabian Gulf.” The provision also states that the U.S. should finalize agreements with key countries in the Gulf to support the Defense of the Arabian Gulf. Section 1231 also requires a report on the efforts to improve the interoperability of United States-Gulf Cooperation Council countries missile defense systems.”
The bill also repeals section 1203 of the 2013 NDAA which provides the Department of Defense with the authority to enhance counterterrorism capacity in Yemen.
