The Pentagon's Plan To Raise A Syrian Rebel Army Is A Complete Disaster

The Arab Source

Philip Ewing and Austin Wright, Politico: The Pentagon's Syria debacle

Top brass debate how to rescue costly effort to raise rebel army to fight Islamic State

With all the U.S.-trained fighters dead, captured or missing and their leader in the hands of Al Qaeda, top U.S. commanders are scrambling this week to determine how to revive the half-billion dollar program to create a moderate Syrian army to fight the Islamic State.

The outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, who viewed the force as a critical element of the military strategy in both Syria and Iraq, is conferring with top Pentagon officials behind closed doors to figure out what options are left for what is widely considered a policy and military failure, according to senior defense officials.

Update: Syrian Rebel Training Program Costs Millions and Counting -- DoD Buzz

WNU Editor: This sums it up (quoting from Politico) ....

.... After nearly 12 months of extensive international outreach, the program has so far yielded only 54 fighters — all of whom were killed, captured by terrorists in Syria or scattered when they came under attack this summer.

Yup .... a disaster.