These same “moderate” rebels recently boasted about how much they like fighting alongside al-Qaeda.

Via The Wire:

Congress may have to vote on President Obama’s ISIS strategy after all – or at least a part of it.

The president told congressional leaders in a meeting on Tuesday that, according to the White House, “he has the authority he needs” to take on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. That means he won’t a seek a formal authorization of force from Congress when he addresses the nation on his strategy to defeat ISIS on Wednesday night.

But Obama is now personally lobbying lawmakers to include language in a government funding bill that would allow the military to train and equip Syrian rebels who are fighting ISIS.

A senior administration official confirmed to The Wire on Wednesday that the president was calling members of Congress to secure their support and had dispatched his chief counter-terrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco, to Capitol Hill to brief them in person.

Update: And I’m guessing the rest of the GOP establishment in the House will follow Boehner’s lead.

House Speaker John Boehner, speaking in a closed party meeting, expressed support for President Barack Obama’s plan to arm Syrian rebels, according to several sources present.

The Ohio Republican said the strategy isn’t everything the GOP wants but it’s a start. He wants to support the commander-in-chief, according to sources present.

There is a hefty amount of skepticism about the president’s strategy. Several Republicans have said they don’t trust the limited scope of the operation and are worried about the risk of arming rebels.