New York, Rajab 29, 1435, May 28, 2014, SPA -- US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he will work with Congress to intensify U.S. support for moderate Syrian opposition groups fighting president Bashar al-Assad. In a speech to the graduating class of military officers at West Point, New York, the U.S. president described the bloody civil war in Syria as both a counter-terrorism challenge and a humanitarian crisis. Obama defended his decision to keep the U.S. military out of the civil war but said he would seek to increase support for the Syrian opposition as well as neighboring countries that face an influx of refugees and fear the spread of terrorism. “As frustrating as it is, there are no easy answers [in Syria], no military solution that can eliminate the terrible suffering anytime soon. As president, I made a decision that we should not put American troops into the middle of this increasingly sectarian civil war, and I believe that is the right decision,” Obama said. “But that does not mean we shouldn’t help the Syrian people stand up against a dictator who bombs and starves his own people. In helping those who fight for the right of all Syrians to choose their own future, we are also pushing back against the growing number of extremists who find safe haven in the chaos,” the president said. One plan being considered by the White House is a $5 billion project to train and equip members of the Free Syrian Army on tactics, including counter-terrorism. --SPA 19:54 LOCAL TIME 16:54 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w