Pentagon to change training program for Syrian rebels

Incredibly, that was probably less of a failure than the second class, which saw roughly 70 fighters show up in Syria from Turkey and more or less immediately give all their US-made weapons and vehicles to al-Qaeda.

“Right now, I think given the complexities of the situation, we’re going to take sort of an operational pause” in the train and equip program, Wormuth said.

The U.S. is abandoning its goal of training a new force of moderate Syrian rebels and will focus on equipping and supporting established rebels groups already fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group inside Syria, officials said on Friday. Madam, then America s choosing them moderate opponents Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates s say whether the train. “U.S.-trained Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State have the equipment and the training to call in airstrikes, but have yet to be authorized to do so, according to a us official with knowledge of the program”.

“Instead Russian Federation can use its significant influence in Syria to bring about political transition from (President Bashar) Assad, which we all know is the real solution”, Carter said.

The plan reflected the priorities of a president who was reluctant to get entrenched in another Middle East conflict, but who needed a ground force to complement USA air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.

The Pentagon will continue to evaluate this program and expect to make refinements and adjustments over time as appropriate, the statement added.

“I remain convinced that a lasting defeat of ISIL in Syria will depend in part on the success of local, motivated, and capable ground forces”.

The USA has endedits Syrian rebel training program.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the training program was only part of the U.S. effort, noting that it has also been arming groups already inside Syria, such as the Kurdish forces defending the border town of Kobane.

Haj Ali saw it as the latest in a long line of examples of half-hearted USA backed for its rebel allies.

The program had been criticized from the beginning, with many charging that the strategy would merely lead to deeper chaos and regional instability-all while being based on mistaken assumptions. It was created to provide a counterweight to both the Assad regime in Syria as well as radical groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, by providing USA training to moderate Syrian rebels.

The program will be replaced with “a far less ambitious program”, defense officials said.