Why couldn’t U.S. officials find the 5,400 “moderate” fighters that they wanted to train? If the worldwide Muslim condemnations of the Islamic State were genuine, Muslims would be flocking from all over the world to fight against the Islamic State, instead of flocking from all over the world to join it. The abysmal failure of this program is a testament to how wrongheaded, willfully ignorant and foolish the U.S. government’s response to the Islamic State has been and continues to be.
“General Austin: Only ‘4 or 5’ US-Trained Syrian Rebels Fighting ISIS,” by Luis Martinez, ABC News, September 16, 2015:
General Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. Central Command leading the war on ISIS, told Congress today that only “four or five” of the first 54 U.S.trained moderate Syrian fighters remain in the fight against ISIS.
Christine Wormuth, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that there are currently between 100 and 120 fighters in a program that was slated to have trained 5,400 fighters in its first 12 months.
Austin told the panel that goal was not going to be met and that options are being explored about how to retool the program which was intended to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. So far, $42 million has been spent to develop the $500 million program which began training in April.
The first 54 graduates of the program were re-inserted into northern Syria in July and were quickly attacked by the Al Nusra Front, the dominant Islamist rebel group in Syria. Though the attack was repelled with U.S. airstrikes, it was characterized as a major setback for the viability of the progam [sic]. When Austin was asked how many trained fighters remained in the fight he responded “it’s a small number,” before adding “the ones that are in the fight, we’re talking four or five.”…

Angemon says
Clearly not a waste of taxpayer money… sarc./ off
Bamaguje says
The utter ineptitude and shear idiocy of Obama administration’s strategy is breathtaking.
Most of the 54 U.S. trained anti-ISIS fighters were killed or captured almost immediately on arrival in Syria.
Yet the lying traitor-in-chief pretends his anti-ISIS strategy is working… even as the Caliphate continues to expand.
And we are supposed to trust the traitorous Iran deal negotiated by this utterly incompetent nitwit.
EYESOPEN says
Yep. Right on all counts.
Dr. Divinity says
From the picture above Austin seems to be mimicking Obama’s tight lip stance.
You sure can’t be tightl liped about$42million…once again showing the pinnacle of stupidity coming from the white house.
williambonney says
This is not the first program to try and train Iraqi troops , the us has been trying to train Iraqi troops for close to 10 years, that Iraqi army that left all their arms and vehicles behind when Isis showed up to fight , was a us trained army that cost billions of dollars in training and all the hardware that was left behind, isis biggest supplier of arms and army vehicles has been the US.
What made the Generals even think of trying to train another one to fight against any one ????????????????????????? These mid eastern people hate your guts and are only going to suck up your money and use you – which is very plain to see. Hello is anybody home !!!!!!
underbed cat says
I wonder does this have anything to do with the “bad intel problem”, which of course comes out in the press, just as another failed Potus policy shows the reality of the elusive moderate muslims not willing to fight against ….shhh the califphate of islam. Bad intel or ignored facts, this will “shock” and “digust” Oba
and protect him from the exposure of his intent. Of course this is just an opinion.
The isis army is here and more to be expected…. immigration “snowball” , just read watched Aldo Sterone: Nothing is Accidental at http://www.gatesofvienna.net…9/15/2015 Baron Bodissey. Excellent car video comments about the migration refugee “terrorist attack”.
underbed cat says
I wonder does this have anything to do with the “bad intel problem”, which of course comes out in the press, just as another failed Potus policy shows the reality of the elusive moderate muslims not willing to fight against ….shhh the califphate of islam. Bad intel or ignored facts, this will “shock” and “disgust” Oba
and protect him from the exposure of his intent. Of course this is just an opinion.
The isis army is here and more to be expected…. immigration “snowball” , just read watched Aldo Sterone: Nothing is Accidental at http://www.gatesofvienna.net…9/15/2015 Baron Bodissey. Excellent car video comments about the migration refugee “terrorist attack”.
underbed cat says
Opps made a spelling correction from first post.
underbed cat says
Where did the very large sum of money go? Let me guess. I hope the trainers, American soldiers get out alive, get them home..
The Russians are in Syria, to support Assad, we don’t near any conflict with Russians at this point.
RG says
Another typical Obamination!!!
Donovan Nuera says
Again, we taxpayers just wasted $42,000,000.00 on a group the size of a full US high school football team varsity roster. At least a team of average high school football players armed with cheap rifles and a few bags of ammo and grenades could have had a better chance of victory with minimal training. It would be also cool to have a cheerleader squad off to the side of the battlefield to insult the jihadis with cheers and distract them at the same time.
Donovan Nuera says
And the remaining 4 “troops” are codenamed “Mohammad, Sydney, Jugdish, and Clayton” – Col. D.C. Niedermeyer
mccode says
That’s what I call ROI
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters… I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m going to think I’m a better political director than my political director.
— Prez Barack Hussein Obama bragging about being a genius
Whoops. Even a visionary genius is gonna whiff on a pitch or two. $10 million per fake freedom fighter may seem steep, but the jury is still out on what these fellows will accomplish.
خَليفة says
No smart, capable person I ever met Ever tried to convince anyone how smart or capable they were; on the other hand, the insecure and ignorant frequently tried to convince others they were smart and capable.
I think Obama thinks if he says something enough it will become true – I also think he’s smoked one too many joints and messed up his brain – he often reminds me of the pot-heads I went to school with.
gravenimage says
What are you the “successor” of?
Baucent says
I suspect most of those US trained “fighters” are now fighting to get onto a bus somewhere in Croatia. A total fiasco.
PRCS says
He. He.
Just what I was thinking.
mortimer says
Robert Spencer has identified the flawed logic of Obama and Cameron: “If the worldwide Muslim CONDEMNATIONS of the Islamic State were GENUINE, Muslims would be flocking from all over the world to FIGHT against the Islamic State.”
15% of Muslim SUPPORT terrorism, while 65% of Muslims support the TWO MAIN GOALS of ISIS: 1) a caliphate 2) strict Sharia law.
65% of Muslims are in some way IN FAVOR of ISIS.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
100% of Moslems lie to stupid Infidel poll takers.
PRCS says
Let’s not let General Austin (40 years in the military–could retire anytime) off the hook.
I don’t think he learned that only 4 or 5 “fighters” are allegedly still ‘in the fight” just yesterday.
And let’s not forget that U.S. military personnel were required–still?– to wear clean, white gloves in order to handle a Gitmo detainee’s taxpayer provided Qur’an years before Obama took office:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jun/9/20050609-092940-3178r/
خَليفة says
If I were an evil… I would print, and put in public bathrooms Koran rolls – so the kuffar can learn about Islam while taking calls of nature.
underbed cat says
General Lloyd Austin now has to get grilled over the events that lead to the failure of the “moderate muslims”, that were very expensive to train and who eventually left or lost their lives entering Syria.
But in reality could any other General have done this differently knowing that the information about the enemy has been pushed as intel, something he relied on from the “mb experts” that were not truthful?
Especially since this was promoted in the WH as creditable. Like all previous Generals they have to follow orders to remain in the positioin that just became impossible. I do not think he deserves all the criticism, especially from McCain who made some errors in judgement about the global islamic movement along with every body who would not study the jihadist code and sharia law and went for the diversity and all religions are the same misinfomation. Turn away from the men in suits that deceive. Just another outsider opinion. I hope for the safety of all the military who are asked to due very dangerous jobs. From what I have read he has served many years.
PRCS says
He has served 40 year–could have retired as much as 20 years ago–so this is not a matter of not being able to retire with a pension.
At what point do senior brass place credibility above position and just tell the unvarnished truth–the consequences be damned?
How long has he known this?
Who did he inform?
And when?
BC says
Where is the movement to remove and impeach the Obamars*hole out of the White House?
Yohanan says
>White House spokesman Josh Earnest said “Austin is considering a number of changes to the military’s training program for Syrian rebels. The president believes the program needs to operate at a much higher level…” – Obama still has confidence in U.S. General Austin. Reuters, Sept. 17 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/17/us-mideast-crisis-syria-whitehouse-idUSKCN0RH2G720150917
“…one hopes that U.S. assistance is more effective compared to the last go-round, especially since the latest video released by IS depicts the fighters training with American-made M16 assault rifles.” Leah Shultz, U.S. Factsheet Details New Spike in U.S. Military Aid to Iraq. Security Assistance Monitor, Sept 14. http://www.securityassistance.org/blog/us-factsheet-details-new-spike-us-military-aid-iraq
underbed cat says
If this general continues a wasteful program with the knowledge of it’s ineffectiveness and stll does not know the enemy I agree with JohnnyAngel , they are both complicit and we are in grave danger.
JohnnyAngel Advocacy Group says
This is PROOF the Obama Administration along with a COMPLICIT Congress is doing NOTHING of importance in fighting the spread of the Islamic State and the threat that is ISLAM. For the American public to have their heads completely buried in the sand of naivety and wishful thinking; the ease with which they believe Obama is TRULY FIGHTING these monsters is extraordinary !! Until someone STEPS UP & CRIES OUT in the court of public opinion and sounds the alarm, this nation is slowly watching its freedoms beginning to slip away. When I.S. gets larger, the threat to the USA becomes larger. Time to elect leaders with some SPINE !!
duh_swami says
‘Magic Theater for Mad Men Only’…Community organizers know best..the plan is working perfectly…
Jeff Bateman says
US Senator John McCain (R, AZ) was on FOX News this morning demanding that the 4 or 5 we trained be “turned loose on Assad”. He was appaled thet they were instructed to “only” fight ISIS (sic), and not Assad, who he sees as the real problem in Syria. Representative Adam Kinzinger (R, IL) said it was Assad who created ISIS. They both went on to talk about how the US must get both Assad and Russia out of Syria. Have any of these people thought through the issiue? Who will govern Syria if Assad falls Have they learned nothing from the other “Arab Spring” Failures?
underbed cat says
If this general continues a wasteful program with the knowledge of it’s ineffectiveness and stll does not know the enemy I agree with JohnnyAngel , they are both complicit.
Jeff Bateman “asks who will govern Syria if Assad falls Have they learned nothing from the other “Arab Spring” Failures”?. Putin fights islamic terror…he knows it well. Not a good idea to fight Putin I don’t think.
Putin also warned about the Chechen brothers, (Boston) and our intelligent officers were hand tied.
Lambda Crusader says
I remember when people were pissed off about $500 government toilet seats. You would think they would be somewhat more upset about this. I guess everyone has been so distracted with social media and the lies of the ‘lame-stream’ media. Pay no attention to the imam behind the curtain.
gravenimage says
For $42 million, “4 or 5” US-trained Syrian “moderates” fighting Islamic State
………………………..
That’s around a million dollars a fighter–let’s hope they’re really, really good…sarc/off
The worst thing is that many have run off to join the Jihadists, with benefit of that excellent American military training.
The truth is that we’ve been fruitlessly looking for “moderates” to back in the Muslim world for a very long time now–they seem pretty few and far between…
Joseph says
Apparently the last moderate Moozlum is learning how to build clocks somewhere here in the US.
I do however think that I am wrong with a capitol W