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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats in Congress are pushing the Obama administration to quickly provide aircraft parts, night-vision equipment and other weapons to Jordan.
The push comes following the release yesterday of a video purporting to show Islamic State militants burning to death a captured Jordanian air force pilot.
A day after meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, all 26 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee called on the administration to make sure Jordan has the military equipment it needs.
In the current year, the United States is providing Jordan with $1 billion in economic and military assistance. The Defense Department is also giving an unspecified amount of help to Jordan to secure its border with Syria.
Sen. John McCain, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, says he expects the panel to quickly approve legislation. He's again accusing the Obama administration of having "no strategy" for dealing with the Islamic State group. McCain says he hopes the video of the death of the Jordanian air force pilot will galvanize not only U.S. leadership but "the Arab world."
At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration would consider any aid package put forward by Congress, but that the White House would be looking for a specific request from Jordan's government.
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233-a-09-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, at news conference)-"is carefully integrated"-White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the president was encouraged by Jordan's vow to redouble its efforts to attack Islamic State militants. (4 Feb 2015)
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244-w-37-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent, with Josh Earnest, White House press secretary)--Pressure is building on President Obama to send more arms to Jordan following the grisly killing of its pilot by Islamic State militants. AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports. (4 Feb 2015)
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APPHOTO DCEV109: White House press secretary Josh Earnest answers a question on the execution of two inmates by Jordan after a Jordanian Air Force pilot was murdered by the Islamic State group, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (4 Feb 2015)
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APPHOTO DCSA118: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says members of his committee will be sending a letter to the Obama administration to express concern that Jordan is not getting all the equipment and resources it needs to continue to take the fight to Islamic State militants, during a break in the confirmation hearing for Ashton Carter to be defense secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. McCain was reflecting on his meeting Tuesday with King Abdullah of Jordan. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (4 Feb 2015)
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