U.S. halts Syrian rebel training: $500,000 program deemed a failure

Less than 80 rebels remain following deaths and surrenders

The United States has decided to halt the $500 million program to train moderate rebels and has been labeled a failure with only the successful release fewer than 80 soldiers, several of whom have fled, been killed, or have relinquished their weapons to ISIS.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The New York Times reported that the Obama Administration admitted the high-cost efforts to train Syrian rebels has failed. The Obama Administration was heavily criticized for the failure of the initial training program following reports of rebels captured by the extremists and reports of surrendering weapons after training with American fighters. 

Six pick-up trucks and ammunition were reportedly surrendered on the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, by some of the U.S.-backed fighters. 

According to White House and Pentagon senior officials, the failure was partly due to the Syrian rebels' interest in fighting the al-Assad regime rather than ISIS, the force they were trained to fight. 

The Daily Mail reported US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter admitted, "We have been looking for now several weeks at ways to improve that program. I wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard."

All training programs are grinding to a halt, including those in Turkey and Jordan, and the money will be redirected to provide ammunition and weapons to groups ready to combat ISIS.

Carter said Washington plans to work more closely with capable Kurdish and other Syrian forces. Leaders of Syrian "capable, indigenous forces" would concentrate on fighting jihadists and will receive strict instructions regarding human rights, review the law of armed conflict and be given communications gear and other devices to help them call in airstrikes. US-trained rebels are also to be embedded into existing Arab and Kurdish forces.

At a news conference in London, Carter stated that the work done by the US with the Kurds is a good example of an effective approach and includes a motivated and capable ground combat force. Washington officials clarified the military equipment sent to more capable groups would be extremely limited until a group's performance proved they would benefit from more weaponry.

The stricter guidelines include brief scans of all rebel commanding officers prior to weapon and ammunition distribution while existing Syrian units are to be given small arms until they prove themselves on the battlefield. If any group failed in battle or lost any weapons to extremists - directly or indirectly - the group would be cut from military supplies and equipment.

"We need to be flexible. We need to be adaptive. Is it best to take those guys out and put them through training, or to keep them on the line fighting and give them equipment and support?"
asked Brett McGurk, Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.

The failed training program is just one of many, with several embarrassing setbacks. The first program offered a group of trainees who mostly disbanded once they saw combat. Some were captured, others killed, and many fled.
The second class drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers who considered the program a failure and called it a joke, with General Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East saying the program got off "to a slow start" before telling Congress he was looking into other options.
Washington officials said the new plan to absorb Syrian rebels into Arab and Kurdish forces would scale back the number of rebels to train and would help the vetting process, which was designed to weed out terrorists attempting to infiltrate U.S. training camps.

---

The California Network is the Next Wave in delivery of information and entertainment on pop culture, social trends, lifestyle, entertainment, news, politics and economics. We are hyper-focused on one audience, YOU, the connected generation. JOIN US AS WE REDEFINE AND REVOLUTIONIZE THE EVER-CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE.