http://bigstory.ap.org/article/obama-outlining-mission-fight-islamic-militants"WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major reversal, President Barack Obama is moving to deepen the U.S. military role in the volatile Middle East, including training and arming Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State militants and potentially expanding airstrikes across the Iraqi border into Syria.
Obama was to outline his plans for battling the Islamic State group in a high-stakes address to the nation Wednesday night. Ahead of his remarks, congressional leaders grappled with whether to support his request to arm the Syrian opposition and if so, how to get such a measure through the fractured legislature.
Obama's plans amount to a striking shift for a president who has steadfastly sought to wind down American military campaigns in the Middle East and avoid new wars. That stance has been notable in Syria, where Islamic State militants have taken advantage of the instability created by a three-year civil war and now operate freely in areas near and across the Iraqi border."
