Pentagon announces plans to revamp Syrian rebel training program

http://www.dw.com/en/pentagon-announces-plans-to-revamp-syrian-rebel-training-program/a-18773353

The United States has announced changes to the program it instituted to train and equip select Syrian rebels. The moves comes as fighting in Syria has escalated.

Pentagon announces plans to revamp Syrian rebel training program
09.10.2015

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called for a "more strategic approach" to trying to defeat the terrorist group "Islamic State." The $500 million (441 million euro) program Washington had implemented in an effort to train and equip rebel groups to fight terrorists in Syria had been deemed a failure.

Carter expressed dissatisfaction with the program, which to date has produced just 80 soldiers, most of whom have proved to be ineffective fighters. Last week, one rebel unit turned over US equipment and weapons to a group of IS combatants.

"We have been looking for now several weeks at ways to improve that program," Carter told reporters. "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."

Looking ahead, the Pentagon will seek to embed rebel fighters with already existing Kurdish units. Carter specifically referenced the work the US military had done with those units as an effective model of how to move forward in tackling extremist militants.