Syria

No more than 5 U.S.-trained Syrian rebels still fighting ISIS, program a total failure

Associated Press / September 16, 2015

No more than five U.S.-trained Syrian rebels are fighting the Islamic State, astoundingly short of the envisioned 5,000, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East told angry lawmakers on Wednesday. They branded the training program "a total failure."

After the first 54 fighters were sent in to fight in July, a Syrian affiliate of al-Qaida attacked the group, killing several and taking others hostage while many fled. Asked how many remain, Gen. Lloyd Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee, "It's a small number. ... We're talking four or five [men]."

Congress has approved $500 million to train Syrian fighters, and officials have said fewer than 200 are going through training now. One of the problems has been that many Syrian fighters want training and equipment to fight the government forces of President Bashar Assad, but the U.S. program is limited to rebels who agree to only battle the militants.

The stunning admission from Austin came as defense officials scrambled separately to respond to allegations that they skewed intelligence assessments to give a rosier picture of conditions on the battlefield.

The Obama administration was already struggling to defend its military strategy to "destroy and degrade" the terrorist group with an air campaign and programs to train, assist and equip local forces. Lawmakers and Republican presidential candidates have assailed the administration, contending that it has had limited or no success in fighting the militants.

"We have to acknowledge this is a total failure," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said about the training. "I wish it weren't so, but that's the fact."

Austin told committee members that the U.S. was looking at better ways to deploy the Syrian forces, but he admitted the U.S. was not even close to reaching its goal of training 5,000-plus in the near term. He predicted it would take years to defeat IS and to restore stability in Iraq and Syria.

"OK. So we're counting on our fingers and toes at this point when we had envisioned 5,400 by the end of the year," lamented Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

Austin maintained the operation was making progress and said the military had always insisted the campaign would take time. The Pentagon also made it clear that U.S. military troops have done no training in Syria. Instead, U.S. special operations forces work with Syrian troops outside the country, including across the border in Iraq.

"We should expect that there will be occasional setbacks along the way, particularly in the early stages," he said. "And our partners, not us, are in the lead. It is taking a bit longer to get things done, but it must be this way if we are to achieve lasting and positive effects."

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said it's easy for critics to "play Monday morning quarterback" on the training program's slow progress. He said the president believed the training program could be a chance to expand the number of Syrian fighters who could cooperate with the U.S., but "thus far, that's not been the result." He said the Pentagon was working to make changes to get a better result.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the committee, called the program a failure, outlined his vision of a U.S. strategy to fight IS and suggested that more American servicemen and women might eventually be needed.

"We need to help establish safe zones inside Syria where refugees and displaced people can be secure," McCain said. "We need forward air controllers to add precision and lethality to our air campaign. ... While no one believes that we need to invade Iraq or Syria, the fact is that we will likely need additional U.S. special forces and military advisers to be successful."

Austin said he would not recommend a buffer zone at this time.

Christine Wormuth, undersecretary of defense for policy, told senators that the U.S. was looking at how to speed up the recruiting and screening processes. It has taken months to identify and screen Syrian rebels, and many who are willing to fight are under 18 or have medical issues.

"While not 10 feet tall, ISIL remains a thinking enemy that adapts to evolving conditions on the battlefield," Wormuth said. "In Iraq the pace of our program has moved more slowly than we'd like, and in Syria, the stringent vetting criteria we're using at the outset of the program has contributed to smaller numbers than we'd hoped for."

On another issue, Austin said he would take "appropriate actions" if an investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general finds that senior defense officials altered intelligence to exaggerate progress being made against IS and other militants in Syria.

Clearly clueless and incompetent [Austin]...........and your life rests partially in his hands. How do you feel about that ?

McCain is disconnected from reality and has been for awhile. The only reason he is still around is he was a POW, he is 79 and should have retired 2 years ago. He has been in Washington 32 years and is part of the problem, what ever happened to his stand on term limits? Should have taken his own advice. Mitch McConnell is the same way I watched an interview on Fox about the Iran deal and he only answered yes or no. Their is no difference in either party Democrats and Republicans, they are all about themselves and not the Average American whom they are supposed to represent otherwise how is Sanders and Trump able to turn out a crowd..

McCain is disconnected from reality and has been for awhile. The only reason he is still around is he was a POW, he is 79 and should have retired 2 years ago. He has been in Washington 32 years and is part of the problem, what ever happened to his stand on term limits? Should have taken his own advice. Mitch McConnell is the same way I watched an interview on Fox about the Iran deal and he only answered yes or no. Their is no difference in either party Democrats and Republicans, they are all about themselves and not the Average American whom they are supposed to represent otherwise how is Sanders and Trump able to turn out a crowd..

I basically agree with you. (the aristocracy doesn't want term limits).

But at this meeting on Syria, it is Austin who's comments are shocking (above and beyond his poor speaking skills)

Having politely stood to the side for the most part to give us the chance we demanded to deal with the situation in Syria, Putin is now going to grab the bull by the horns and get the job done. The Obama Administration is now in massive "loss-of-face for the U.S." damage control mode, not unlike two years ago.

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President Putin said on Tuesday: "We support the government of Syria… in countering the terrorist aggression (ISIS, and the Syrian rebel forces which compared to Assad are the worse of two evils).

"We provide and will continue to provide it with the necessary military technical assistance. And we urge other countries to join us."

Mr Putin also said the situation in Syria would have been "worse than in Libya" had Russia not been supporting its leadership.

U.S. supported Syrian commander gives U.S.-supplied equipment to al-Qaida

Associated Press / September 25, 2015

A Syrian rebel commander who recently completed a U.S. training program has told the U.S. military that he surrendered six U.S.-supplied coalition-provided trucks and ammunition to an intermediary linked to the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, known as the Nusra Front.

U.S. Central Command said late Friday that roughly 25 percent of the equipment assigned to that unit was turned over earlier this week in exchange for safe passage within the region.

The revelation underscores persistent problems with the U.S.-led coalition's effort to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State.

The commander who turned the equipment over to the Nusra Front was one of about 70 rebel fighters who were in the second U.S. training course.

The first batch of about 54 trainees has disbanded. Of the 54, no more than five are still fighting ISIS.

Any one hear Obama's off the cuff remark on POLSAT "that Russian involvement could trigger a war in Syria and terrorist attacks world wide." Don't we have that now?

So we air-dropped 112 pallets of ammunition (50 tons) to Syrian rebels last night. I wonder now how much they've already handed over to ISIS.

ISIS appears to be delighted with the U.S.-purchased Toyota pickup trucks that the Syrian rebels presented them with.

This latest development, coming days after the CIA claims to have abandoned a $500 million plan to train thousands of "moderate" rebels to fight ISIS (If you know how to determine if a Syrian rebel is a "moderate" rather than a radical, call the CIA suggestion line at 1-800-CIA-HELP).

Washington criticizes the Russians for mounting air attacks. Then the next day, we bomb a Doctors-Without-Borders hospital and kill 20 people. They'd reported their GPS location week-after-week. We knew. After the attack began, they called the US government both locally and in Washington. But the attack continued. Go figure

The 60 Minutes interview between President Obama and reporter Steve Kroft.

Kroft challenged Obama's strategies in Syria and against ISIS, accusing the president of embarrassing failures and a lack of leadership.

Steve Kroft: The last time we talked was this time last year, and the situation in Syria and Iraq had begun to worsen vis-à-vis ISIS. You had just unveiled a plan to provide air support for troops in Iraq, and also some air strikes in Syria, and the training and equipping of a moderate Syrian force. You said that this would degrade and eventually destroy ISIS.

President Obama: Over time.

Steve Kroft: Over time. It's been a year, and--

President Obama: I didn't say it was going to be done in a year.

Steve Kroft: No. But you said......

President Obama: There's a question in here somewhere.

Kroft was pressing Obama on the administration's timetable and successes so far against ISIS, at one point describing a now-scuttled Pentagon plan to train and equip anti-Islamic State fighters as an 'embarrassment.' The White House announced Friday that it is pausing the train-and-arm plan after it was revealed last month to a Senate committee that instead of an initial goal of 5,000 fighters, the U.S. military now only has four or five still on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria.

Steve Kroft: If you were skeptical of the program to find and identify, train and equip moderate Syrians, why did you go through the program?

President Obama: Well, because part of what we have to do here, Steve, is to try different things. Because we also have partners on the ground that are invested and interested in seeing some sort of resolution to this problem. And--

Steve Kroft: And they wanted you to do it?

President Obama: Well, no. That's not what I said. I think it is important for us to make sure that we explore all the various options that are available.

Steve Kroft: I know you don't want to talk about this.

President Obama: No, I'm happy to talk about it.

Steve Kroft: I want to talk about the-- this program, because it would seem to show, I mean, if you expect 5,000 and you get five, it shows that somebody someplace along the line did not-- made-- you know, some sort of a serious miscalculation.

President Obama: You know, the-- the-- Steve, let me just say this.

Steve Kroft: It's an embarrassment.

FBI unable to screen Syrian refugees Obama administration plans to absorb into US

Associated Press / October 21, 2015

FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday told Congress that the federal government cannot conduct thorough checks on all of the coming influx of 10,000 refugees from Syria.

Appearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Comey said Syrians who aren't already in the FBI's database are unknown to the agency, meaning their backgrounds cannot be adequately scoured for a risk of terrorism.

'We can only query against that which we have collected,' Comey told the committee under questioning.

'So if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them.

A flood of 4 million [alleged] refugees have fled the fighting in Syria during the four-year-old civil war, with the situation reaching a crisis level in recent months.

President Obama announced in September that the U.S. will allow up to 10,000 refugees, a far greater total than the 1,854 that has been allowed to date during the four-year war.

Republicans have criticized the plan, since it could potentially allow an influx of ISIS-trained militants posing as refugees - a possibility Comey essentially endorsed on Wednesday.

But the concerns have also crossed party lines. On Wednesday, for example, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, a Democrat, said there is widespread worry over the agency's limits.

'A lot of us are concerned about whether you have enough information available to you to do an accurate vetting,' Thompson said.

'You can only query what you’ve collected,' Comey responded.

Comey went on to explain that an influx of Iraqi refugees after the Iraq war was easier for the agency to cope with because the U.S. had been in Iraq for several years at the time.

The situation in Syria, Comey said, was 'different.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NgB4SwG4SM

A now we learn the 50 tons of ammunition (112 pallets) we air-dropped to Syrian rebels last last week was actually received by the Kurds.

It wasn't an accident, rather an intended deception.

What a tangled web we weave (dangerous, given we're no longer good at it in the Middle East).

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-15/u-s-airdrop-in-syria-ends-up-arming-the-kurds

John Q. Public, are your tax dollars being spent by your Washington employees as you intended?

“Really ambitious goals” about increasing the number of U.S.-bound refugees??? I don’t recall discussing or approving any “really ambitious goals”.

It's not up to the White House to decide how many, if any, Middle Eastern refugees may come to the US. The decision is up to the American people.

You have to hand it to the State Department though. They are brilliant at keeping 90 percent of their work off the radar of their boss, the American people. They generally are clueless about the antics of the State Dept around the world, which have caused America's reputation to sink to an all-time low. One can't lead without being respected, and respect is earned by demonstrating a wide range of admired traits.

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U.S. to open new screening centers for Syrian refugees - State Department

Reuters / November 6, 2015

The Obama administration is moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian refugees who might be admitted into the United States by opening new screening outposts in Iraq and Lebanon, administration officials told Reuters on Friday.

The move comes after President Barack Obama pledged in September to admit an additional 10,000 refugees in 2016 from Syria, torn by four years of civil war and disorder.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the plans to open a refugee settlement processing center in Erbil, Iraq, before the end of 2015, and to resume refugee processing in Lebanon in early 2016, said spokeswoman Danna Van Brandt.

The White House would not say how many additional refugees it may take in beyond the 10,000, but two senior administration officials said they are seeking ways to increase the number.

"We want to be in a place where we can push out really ambitious goals," said one of the officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

The State Department runs nine screening centers worldwide that serve as meeting points for refugees and U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees who have to decide who is suitable for resettlement in the United States.

The additional centers will double the number available to refugees in the Middle East. Most Syrians are now screened for potential U.S. resettlement at centers in Istanbul and Amman, Jordan.

The new centers are designed to "increase the channels" the United States has for reaching Syrian refugees, the official said.

Homeland Security workers stopped traveling to Lebanon to meet with refugees when the facility there closed over a year ago due to security concerns.

That closure sparked outrage among refugee advocates who say Lebanon holds the largest number of Syrian refugees, most of whom live in poverty because it is illegal for them to work.

Lebanon announced last month, however, that it would no longer accept Syrian refugees except in special cases.

Amid a tide of refugees in Europe, some congressional Democrats and refugee advocates say the United States should do more for Syrians who often make dangerous journeys to lands where they have no home or means of employment.

Some Republicans have raised concerns that allowing more Syrians into the United States jeopardizes national security.

"We have little or no information about who these people are ... no ability to determine whether they are radicalized," Republican Senator Jeff Sessions said at a hearing on Oct. 2.

Another senior administration official told Reuters that the United States is also encouraging other countries to contribute more money to the United Nations' effort to help refugees.

The administration is also looking to increase aid to Syria's border countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey as they take in millions fleeing the war, the official said.

Meanwhile, Germany has come to its senses about the nightmare that Merkel has created.

Berlin has announced that the hundreds of thousands of Syrians entering Germany will NOT be granted asylum or refugee status. Syrians will only be allowed to enter Germany for ONE YEAR, are barred from having family members join them, and will only enjoy “subsidiary protection” which limits their rights as refugees.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/germany-imposes-surprise-curbs-on-syrian-refugees

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New Year resolutions of the United States.

1. No to Middle Eastern refugees freely entering the US......they can apply to immigrate thru the normal process (they're actually from all over the place.......over half are not "refugees" at all)

2. All illegal aliens in the US must be immediately deported, and black-listed from legally immigrating to the US in the future, the penalty for their crime. Intentionally entering the U.S. illegally shows a character flaw that we don't need more of.

3. The U.S. citizenship of all birth tourism babies over the last 10 years must be revoked. The founding fathers did not intend for foreigners to fly to the US (and even US territories like Saipan) to give birth, so the child's family could use this means (loophole) to immigrate later.

RT / December 16, 2015

Turkey has charged a parliament member with treason for revealing to western journalists that ISIS jihadists delivered deadly sarin gas to Syria through Turkey.

Ankara’s Chief Prosecutor's Office has opened the case against Istanbul MP Eren Erdem of Republican People's Party (CHP).

"Chemical weapon materials were brought to Turkey and put together in ISIS camps in Syria, which was known as the Iraqi Al-Qaeda at that time."

Erdem noted that the chemicals used for the production of weapons did not originate from Turkey.

“All basic materials are purchased from Europe. Western institutions should question themselves about these relations. Western sources know very well who carried out the sarin gas attack in Syria,” said Erdem.

Erdem has received death threats over social media following his announcement, revealing the Turkish paramilitary organization Ottoman Hearths had published his home address on Twitter to enable an attack on his house.

“I am being targeted with death threats because I am patriotically opposed to something that tramples on my country's prestige,” said Erdem.

Erdem made his statement based on the results of a Turkish court investigation in 2013.

Erdem revealed that five Turkish citizens had been arrested by the Adana Chief Prosecutor's Office as a result of an investigation coded 2013/139.

A Syrian national was prosecuted in Turkey for procuring chemical agents for ISIS groups in Syria. Erdem also noted all the persons arrested within the framework of the 2013/139 investigation were released a week later.

The most widely-reported chemical attack in Syria took place in the early hours of August 21, 2013, in Ghouta, on the outer fringes of Damascus. Rockets containing sarin gas were fired, killing more than 1,400 people, including over 400 children. It was the same day a UN team of inspectors arrived in the city to investigate the alleged March 19 chemical attack in Khan al-Assal, northern Syria.

Clearly clueless and incompetent [Austin]...........and your life rests partially in his hands. How do you feel about that ?

Austin is a black dude enjoying the fact that his CiC is also black (clearly he is unqualified for the rank he holds).... He's not going to say anything that would counter (or even remotely challenge) Obama's position on the matter.

It seems that the Kerry-Putin meeting in Moscow resulted in a mutual understanding that Turkey has dirty hands, and that it’s in the best interest of the US and Russia to work together (in annihilating ISIS) for the greater good.

“Despite our countries’ differences, we demonstrated that when the United States and Russia pull together in the same direction, progress can be made,” Kerry said.

“While we don’t see eye to eye on every aspect of Syria, we see Syria fundamentally similarly. We want the same outcomes, we see the same dangers, we understand the same challenges," Kerry said.

“Russia and the United States agree that you can't defeat ISIS without also de-escalating the fight in Syria,” Kerry said, adding that both Moscow and Washington are “focused on political process” and that “Syrians will be making decisions on the future of Syria.”

“We don’t seek to isolate Russia as a matter of policy,” Kerry said. “But we have consistently said that the world is better off when Russia and the US find common ground and an ability to be able to work together.”

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The U.S. is withdrawing a dozen warplanes from a Turkish air base, barely a month after they arrived to help Turkey protect its air space and to conduct strikes against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq, officials said Wednesday.

The move comes less than a month after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber, heightening tensions between Moscow and Ankara and leading Russia to stiffen its air defenses in Syria.

The decision was announced by U.S. European Command in Germany one day after Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Incirlik Air Base, where the 12 F-15s arrived last month from their home base in Britain.

During his visit the day before, Carter [oddly] made no mention of the plan to withdraw the F-15s.

[On the contrary,] Carter said the U.S. is looking for ways to do more to hasten the defeat of ISIS, including by urging coalition partners to play a greater role.

Carter said Turkey and other coalition allies should take a more assertive role in the campaign against ISIS.

The U.S. still has 12 A-10 close-air support aircraft based at Incirlik, as well as drone aircraft and refueling planes.

The U.S. intends to replace six of the departing F-15s with a like number of A-10s [the legendary and deadly ground-attack aircraft that the Air Force wants to take out of service].

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/42652-paris-under-attack/page-5?hl=a-10#entry312874

When Turkey agreed earlier this year to permit the U.S. to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State with planes based at Incirlik, the Pentagon touted the decision as an important milestone. It shortened the time and distance required to conduct airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, compared with strikes flown from bases in the Persian Gulf area.

Six of the withdrawing aircraft are F-15Cs, designed for aerial combat and deployed in response to a Turkish request for support securing its airspace. The other six are F-15Es.

We should go easy on McCain because we don't know what they did with him or to him when he was a POW.He may be doing the best his mine will let him do.

We should go easy on McCain because we don't know what they did with him or to him when he was a POW.He may be doing the best his mine will let him do.

I have nothing but respect for U.S. Navy veteran John McCain.

But, there has long been a troubling pattern with government leaders all around the world. They come on strong with dynamic and flexible thinking in their 40s and 50s, but transition to conservative and rigid thinking in their later years, just the opposite of what made them outstanding in the beginning. It's a normal event of human nature, but detrimental to optimal governmental performance.

John McCain is 79. His experience and knowledge is not subject to question. But respectfully speaking, I believe that the age for members of the legislative, executive and judicial branches should be capped at 75, if not 70.

I see a few issues raised with the new White House plans. One is the bombing of ISIS/ISL training bases. There are known to be 60 plus, Obama will only strike at 20 because the other 40 plus are "too close to civilians" and may incur casualties.

Second issue is the White House no fly zone, seem the White House is doing it to provoke Russia and keep the path for the black market through Turkey open for weapons and oil more than anything else.

Luckily for ISIS/ISL Obama is more concerned with working with the Justice Department on his pending Executive Order for U.S. gun control legislation than those pesky ISIS people.

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The Justice Department is preparing recommendations on how best to craft restrictions that don’t require legislation from Congress and can survive court challenges by gun-rights advocates. The administration is considering a "range of steps that can be taken as it relates to the people who have access to guns" and "how people gain access to guns," Psaki said. She indicated she did not expect any action before Christmas.

O shit for brains needs to tried for treason and put in prison till Allah comes for him. I cannot wait till he is gone and his stench has evaporated, he and the libs are clueless to what is happening in the world, one brain dead leading another.

Just remember that there is about half of the people that want Hillary and she will be just as bad as this spook.Its got to do will free stuff, our free stuff.

Just remember that there is about half of the people that want Hillary and she will be just as bad as this spook.Its got to do will free stuff, our free stuff.

She will make Obama look like an saint. After 6 months in office, people will be talking about the "good old days when Obama was in office"

Hope there is a few Oz-walds about if she is elected

Problem with O crap for brains is his brains are to close to his poop hole.

The 6 German Tornado jets deployed to Syria for reconnaissance missions can't fly at night, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported Tuesday.

(A whole 6 aircraft. And, Merkel refused to perform in a combat role out of fear of reprisal by the ocean of Muslims refugees now taking over Germany)

Germany’s G36 assault rifle, which is being phased out, is the butt of jokes because it can't fire straight at high temperatures.

Der Spiegel magazine reported last year that only four of the military's 39 NH90 helicopters were currently useable.

Most recently, the German air force admitted the external fuel tank of one of its Eurofighters fell off as it was preparing for takeoff.