We may only have a few hours to stop Congress from making a big mistake.

As part of his overall plan to take on ISIS, President Obama has proposed new funding to train and arm rebel groups in Syria. This would be a major escalation of U.S. involvement in the Syrian conflict and an extremely risky development with potentially disastrous unintended consequences.

Recent reports have claimed some of the so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels that would receive money and weapons under this plan have agreed to a "non-aggression pact" with ISIS. It's possible that, despite the president's best intentions, weapons sent to Syrian rebels could find their way into the hands of ISIS -- and be used to target Americans.

As our history in Afghanistan demonstrates, funding and arming volatile insurgent groups can often blow back on the U.S. years and decades later. War hawks in Washington, at the forefront of fueling what Gore Vidal once called the "United States of Amnesia," might want us to forget -- but that's why we need a meaningful debate that exposes these lessons.

Congress should conduct a full, vigorous, and open debate on the president's plan and the proposal to arm Syrian rebels -- with a stand-alone, up-or-down, vote on it. Instead, Congress is moving ahead TODAY on funding the arming of Syrian rebels by attaching an amendment to the Continuing Resolution (CR) budget bill that must pass for the government to stay open beyond October 1.

That's why Congress needs to hear from you ASAP today -- and before they green-light the president's $500 million plan to arm the Syrian rebels. Click here to call your representative now and tell them to vote NO on arming the Syrian rebels.

As The Hill reported last night, the bill the House will be voting on -- with limited debate -- will NOT "exclude rebels with links to terrorist groups from participating in the program, since that would make it difficult to recruit trainees."    

In a rush to war, our congressional representatives are failing to ask -- and answer -- fundamental questions. Jon Soltz from VoteVets put it best in the Huffington Post yesterday:

"... Who actually represents the Syrian "moderates"? Who do you talk to? Coordinate with? Who actually ensures that none of the forces will take our weapons and give or sell them to ISIS? Attempts to unite Syrian opposition under one umbrella have proven to be a failure. There is no accountability -- no chain of command."

Before the United States gets involved in another open-ended war in the Middle East, we need answers to tough questions. Congress must debate and be held accountable for our actions in Syria -- so we don't make the same mistakes we've made in the past.

Call your representative TODAY and tell them to vote NO on arming "moderate" Syrian rebels.

Thank you for making this important call today.

- Eden

Eden James, Political Director

Democracy for America