
FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter appears at a news conference at the Pentagon. The nation’s top military officials are expected to face sharp questions from Republicans angry the Obama administration is not taking more aggressive steps to end the 5-year-old-civil war in Syria. Carter and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to testify Sept. 22, before the GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)