"I hear a lot of talk," The Washington Post quoted US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker as saying on Friday when asked about Riyadh’s promise to commit troops in Syria.
Another US lawmaker questioned the Saudis’ reasoning regarding their demand for Washington to initiate ground forces first, considering that Saudi Arabia is closer to Syria.
"I don’t know why the United States has to make the first move on the chessboard," Senator Tim Kaine was quoted by The Washington Post as saying. "Whose region is this? And who has the principal responsibility with it?"
Kaine noted the United States wants partner with nations in the region tackling their own terrorist threat.
"[B]ut the notion they will be producing only if we play the leadership role — it kind of makes me question, how did that get to be?" Kaine added.
Yet another senator, Ben Cardin, noted the United States will judge the Saudi commitment "by what they deliver."
The US-led coalition of 66 nations, including Saudi Arabia, has been launching airstrikes against Daesh in Syria and Iraq since 2014. However, the operations in Syria have been conducted without the approval of the Syrian government or the UN Security Council.
