The [U.S.] program was put on hold in 2015, after it became known that very few of the militants trained in Turkey by Western instructors succeeded in their mission, having either been killed by ISIL or al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front) militants, or surrendering, along with all of their brand-new US-supplied weapons and communications gear.
17 January 2017
FARS
TEHRAN (FNA)- A group of militants that have surrendered themselves to the Syrian officials disclosed that a large number of terrorist groups have been trained by the American, British and French military officers in training camps in Jordan to take part in battles against Syrian Army troop.
A seven-member group of militants in al-Rahibiyeh region in Damascus that have left terrorist-held regions with the coordination of the army and handed over their weapons and munitions to the army soldiers, disclosed that some of terrorist groups had been trained by the US, French, Italian and British officers in Jordan.
Also, one of the militants said that terrorists are being supported financially from abroad, adding that the Western states are even collaborating with ISIL and "attacks on ISIL by the Western states are entirely a show."
UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced in late October
According to the plan some 20 UK trainers would be deployed in Syria or in neighboring territories "to provide vetted members of the 'moderate Syrian opposition' with the skills they need to continue to take the fight to ISIL", Sputnik reported.
"All volunteers from the moderate opposition will be subject to strict vetting procedures and will receive training in international humanitarian law. Trainees will be security and medically screened prior to the start of training and will be assessed during and monitored after training," Fallon told reporters.
The training was reported to include basic infantry drills and battlefield medicine, as well as skills to avoid mines and booby-traps, according to the text of the upcoming announcement.
The program was put on hold in 2015, after it became known that very few of the militants trained in Turkey by Western instructors succeeded in their mission, having either been killed by ISIL or al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front) militants, or surrendering, along with all of their brand-new US-supplied weapons and communications gear.
The US participation in the militant training program in Syria spent a reported $500 million on the program and was shut down by US President Barack Obama after it was detailed that the program, aimed at delivering some 15,000 skilled militants to the front, produced only a handful of soldiers.
US commanders acknowledged that they struggled to find militants who would agree to only fight ISIL, and not the Syrian army.
The UK Ministry of Defense still believes the moderate-opposition story, denying that those militants are terrorists. On the contrary, US President Barack Obama was reportedly unwilling to send more manpower to the militants in Syria, as it was suggested that they were becoming increasingly extremist.
Critics of the moderate opposition notion observe that the fighting skills, to say nothing of the weapons themselves, will be transferred to ISIL or other groups, as militants have willingly surrendered in the past.
Currently, some 500 British troops are training Kurdish and Iraqi forces in Iraq to support the ongoing assault on Mosul, according to the Telegraph.
[END REPORT]
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1 comment:
A joke about two stone lions at the U. of Missouri was that they would stand up and roar if a virgin ever walked by. I'm thinking there's a similar joke to be made about Arab recruits who don't support ISIS and British and US military personnel who are not hopelessly naive.
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