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I know it must be really, really old news by now that the US program to
"train and equip" a new army of "rebels" was only ever aimed,
explicitly, at them only fighting ISIS and not the regime, but this is
the first time I see they were expected to sign a contract pledging to
not fight Assad. I guess these "rebels" are only quitting now were a
little slow.
MK
Syrian Opposition Fighters Withdraw from US 'Train and Equip' Program
Jun 22nd, 2015 by Ibrahim Hamidi for Al-Hayat
(London-based Saudi
newspaper)
http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/29382/Syrian_Opposition_Fighters_Withdraw_from_US_Train_Equip_Program/
Dozens of fighters withdraw from Pentagon training program in Turkey and
Jordan after being forced to sign contract pledging not to attack Assad
forces
Syrian Opposition Fighters Withdraw from US
Western diplomatic sources confirmed that dozens of “moderate
opposition” fighters withdrew from the US Defense Department’s
train-and-equip program after refusing to sign a contract guaranteeing
not to fight against the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Meanwhile, regional and Western countries are seeking to persuade the
Obama administration to provide political mandate to the international
coalition jet fighters to support the opposition fighters against the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
US Congress approved a three-year plan with a $500 million USD annual
budget for training and arming 5,000 fighters annually to achieve three
goals; fighting ISIS, defending the areas controlled by the "moderate"
opposition, and pushing towards a political solution in Syria. Congress
also agreed to set up four camps, including two in Jordan and Turkey.
According to sources, about 6,000 fighters applied to join the Pentagon
program, supervised by Gen. Michael Nagata, in parallel with a secret
CIA program to train and equip opposition fighters.
About 2,500 fighters were said to have passed the first phase of
testing, with only 1,500 of them chosen to continue training. The
sources noted that about 200 fighters arrived in two training camps in
Jordan and Turkey, "but only around 50 of them remained in the program
after the rest refused to sign a paper containing a pledge not to fight
regime forces, or because their names did not match the names registered
in the preliminary lists, meaning only dozens of fighters received
training in the camp in southern Turkey".
Agence France Presse reported from Pentagon spokesperson Colonel Steve
Warren that while the stated goal is to train 5,000 fighters per year,
only "a hundred or two" Syrians began training in the two camps in
Jordan and Turkey. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told Congress
on Wednesday that it is “very difficult” to identify fighters who meet
the specified criteria.
In addition to operational difficulties, the program also faces
strategic problems between the Obama administration and some of its
allies, such as Turkey. Sources claim Ankara believes the US aims to
train the fighters only against ISIS, at the expense of fighting the
Syrian regime, stating: "it was clear from the very beginning that the
task of these Syrian fighters is to fight ISIS at the moment".
Turkey and Western countries have attempted to convince Washington to
broaden the mission of the international coalition fighter jets to
provide air protection to opposition fighters, but the Obama
administration has refused to approve any step that may harm Iranian
interests or the current nuclear negotiations deal.
Coalition warplanes struck ISIS locations in Izaz Soran in the
countryside of Aleppo last week, strengthening the position of the
Syrian opposition fighters, the first step of its kind since the
commencement of the coalition raids last September. The sources
explained that the task of the coalition fighters in Syria is only to
"strike any ISIS location that effects fighting ISIS in Iraq, because
Obama's strategy is to defeat ISIS in Iraq first, in addition to
destroying the infrastructure of the Islamic State in the north east of
the country".
The sources believe the political mandate given to coalition fighters
only to destroy "ISIS infrastructure, such as oil stations and command
centers, within Iraq first", may explain the coalition's failure to
prevent ISIS from controlling the city of Palmyra in central Syria weeks
ago
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