Kerry: Arab countries offered to pay for invasion

Secretary of State John Kerry said at Wednesday’s hearing that Arab counties have offered to pay for the entirety of unseating President Bashar al-Assad if the United States took the lead militarily.

“With respect to Arab countries offering to bear costs and to assess, the answer is profoundly yes,” Kerry said. “They have. That offer is on the table.”

Asked by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) about how much those countries would contribute, Kerry said they have offered to pay for all of a full invasion.

“In fact, some of them have said that if the United States is prepared to go do the whole thing the way we’ve done it previously in other places, they’ll carry that cost,” Kerry said. “That’s how dedicated they are at this. That’s not in the cards, and nobody’s talking about it, but they’re talking in serious ways about getting this done.

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A day after testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President Obama’s top national security aides likely face a tougher examination of the administration’s plans for military intervention in Syria from House Republicans and skeptical Democrats.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey are again set to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Stay tuned below for the latest updates.