President Obama's big plan to train friendly Syrian rebels has had a really rough few days. The first 60 American-trained Syrian rebels, part of a group called Division 30, finally went onto the battlefield and almost immediately got attacked by al-Qaeda and suffered a humiliating defeat. According to the Guardian, al-Qaeda fighters killed five US-trained rebels, wounded 18, and kidnapped seven, including the unit's commander. Half of the American-trained fighters were put out of commission within weeks of hitting the ground.
The Pentagon's rebel training program, announced over a year ago, was supposed to be a key part of Obama's strategy against ISIS. Clearly, it's gone poorly. But to see just how poorly, it helps to look at this brief timeline of the Pentagon's Syrian rebel training program. It's not pretty:
WNU Editor: All talk .... no action. But in all fairness .... Syria is an utter mess, and for the U.S. to have an impact it will entail a commitment that the U.S. is unwilling (and unable) to provide right now .... and even then there is no guarantee of success.
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