Pentagon's Failed Syria Program Cost $2 Million Per Trainee

Source: USA Today

Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 6:08 p.m. EST November 5, 2015

WASHINGTON — When the Pentagon pulled the plug last month on its plan to train and field a force of moderate Syrians to combat the Islamic State, it had spent $384 million, or $2 million per fighter, for a program that produced dismal results, according to interviews and spending figures obtained by USA TODAY.

The Pentagon had tabbed $500 million in 2015 for the effort and promised to graduate 3,000 trained and equipped New Syrian Forces fighters this year, and 5,000 annually thereafter to combat the Islamic State, also known as ISIL.

The program was suspended after $384 million had been spent. Of the 180 Syrians vetted, trained and equipped, 145 fighters remain in the program. Of those, 95 are in Syria today. Two of the four training camps the Pentagon designated for the program in the Middle East never hosted a recruit.

The Pentagon disputes the $2 million figure per trainee, saying the actual cost is far lower, $30,000 per trainee. The "vast majority" of the funds paid for weapons, equipment and ammunition, some of which the U.S.-led coalition still has in storage, Navy Cdr. Elissa Smith, a spokeswoman, said in an email. In addition, some of those trained fighters have been calling in air strikes, and ammunition designated for the trainees has been given instead to other forces fighting ISIL, Smith said.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/05/pentagon-isil-syria-train-and-equip/75227774/