Page 3 - Aruba Today
P. 3
U.S. NEWS A3
Friday 18 September 2015
US Preparing Shift in
Approach in Syria
ROBERT BURNS approach comes a day
LOLITA C. BALDOR after the head of U.S. Cen-
Associated Press tral Command, Gen. Lloyd
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Austin, told Congress that
Obama administration is the $500 million effort to
preparing a major over- train 5,000 moderate Syrian
haul of its failed effort to rebels in a year had yielded
train thousands of moder- “four or five” new fighters
ate Syrian rebels to fight after another 50 or so were
the Islamic State group, captured, wounded or fled
shifting from preparing reb- in their first encounter with
els for frontline combat to a extremist militants.
plan to embed them with The new approach is de-
established Kurdish and signed to intensify military
Arab forces in northeastern pressure on Raqqa, the
Syria, U.S. officials said. self-declared capital of the
Instead of fighting the Is- so-called caliphate the Is-
lamic State in small units, lamic State has established
the U.S.-trained rebels across much of Syria and
would be attached to Iraq. The city is sometimes
larger existing Kurdish and targeted by American-
Arab forces. They would led coalition airstrikes, and
be equipped with U.S. Syrian government forces
communications gear and have occasionally target-
trained to provide intelli- ed it as well.
gence and to designate IS In addition to changing the
targets for airstrikes in co- role of the U.S.-trained reb-
ordination with U.S. troops els, the Pentagon would
outside of Syria, the officials scale back their numbers
said. from the original target of
The change amounts to 5,400 per year to a much
an acknowledgement that smaller total, perhaps 500,
the administration’s current the officials said. Their vet-
approach is not working. It ting, designed to weed
was described by officials out terrorist infiltrators, also
who spoke on condition of would be streamlined, one
anonymity because a final official said Thursday.
decision on how to pro- Pentagon press secretary
ceed has not been made. Peter Cook told reporters
The discussion of a new Thursday that officials are
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., R-Ariz., questions US looking to make “adjust- In light of Austin’s admis-
Central Command Commander Gen. Lloyd Austin III, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, ments,” adding, “We’re sion, Cook was asked
Sept. 16, 2015, during the committee’s hearing on US military operations to counter the Islamic asking a host of questions Thursday whether Defense
State in Iraq. about this program.” He Secretary Ash Carter was
said the plan is for it to considering firing the four-
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) continue “in some form or star Army general. Cook
fashion.” He was not more said Carter has “full confi-
specific. dence” in Austin.
Austin, who leads the anti- At Wednesday’s hearing,
Islamic State campaign, Austin and the Pentagon’s
told a Senate committee policy chief, Christine Wor-
Wednesday that only four muth, made oblique refer-
or five U.S.-trained rebels ences to altering the train-
are currently operating in- and-equip program, which
side Syria. That compares Congress authorized last
to the administration’s orig- December with $500 million
inal goal to train and equip in funding.
5,000 fighters by the end of Saying the program “has
this year. gotten off to a slow start,”
Austin’s disclosure trig- Austin said he was consid-
gered an avalanche of ering “the best means to
caustic comments. Repub- employ these forces as we
lican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a go forward,” taking into ac-
New Hampshire Republi- count lessons learned from
can, called it “a joke.” Re- having sent an initial group
publicanSen. John McCain of 54 U.S.-trained rebels
said it was further proof into Syria in late July only
that the administration’s to have them immediately
counter-IS strategy is an attacked by al-Nusra, a
“abject failure.” Syrian al-Qaida affiliate.q
