U.S. Dumps Syrian Rebel-Training Program

The U.S. has abandoned its program for training moderate rebels to fight ISIS in Syria, The New York Times reported today. Some $500 million was allotted for the program, which produced fewer than 100 fighters total in its first two classes.

During a Senate hearing in September, officials revealed that only “four or five” U.S- trained rebels were fighting in Syria—a fraction of those who completed training, and a far cry from the 5,400 projected for the year when the program was announced.

Officials are expected to formally announce the end of the program Friday, and recruits now in training are expected to be placed with opposition groups on the ground.

“Training thousands of infantry was not the right model, I think that’s become pretty clear,” an official told the Times. Read more at The New York Times.

{CB Frommer-Matzav.com}