'4 or 5' U.S.-trained Syrians fighting ISIS

[questionmark]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Lloyd Austin shocked lawmakers Wednesday when he revealed that a mere handful of U.S.-trained Syrians were still actively engaged against the Islamic State.

"It's a small number," Gen Austin said, "we're talking four or five."

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., was not impressed.

"Let's not kid ourselves," Sen. Ayotte said, "that's a joke."

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And we spent how much to do that?

Yo, Congress, I'll do it for half!

[Leonardo]

Obstacles to the program's success include the difficulty in finding "moderate" Syrian rebels that can clear the military's screening process, and are more concerned with fighting IS than with fighting President Bashar Assad.

Okay, just how intelligent is "military intelligence"?

Because if they'd asked my opinion, I would have told them this beforehand and saved the US taxpayer $500 million.

[Dark_Grey]

Okay, just how intelligent is "military intelligence"?

Because if they'd asked my opinion, I would have told them this beforehand and saved the US taxpayer $500 million.

There isn't enough time in the day to post all the jokes on that one

[acidhead]

It's obvious it was done on purpose. To suggest, as Donald Trump does at every chance, Obama and the American military chief personal are completely deluded incompetent losers who are so terribly stupid is ignorantly allowing your self conscience to let them off the hook for not foreseeing unintended consequences in advance. The comments so far in this thread prove it. It becomes laughter to some... joking and laughing over the death and human suffering thousand of miles from your doorstep. A lame attempt to create humour from anothers horror.

[robinrenee]

It's obvious it was done on purpose. To suggest, as Donald Trump does at every chance, Obama and the American military chief personal are completely deluded incompetent losers who are so terribly stupid is ignorantly allowing your self conscience to let them off the hook for not foreseeing unintended consequences in advance. The comments so far in this thread prove it. It becomes laughter to some... joking and laughing over the death and human suffering thousand of miles from your doorstep. A lame attempt to create humour from anothers horror.

I think it was done on purpose too. However, I think it's going according to plan. The alternative press keeps saying that ISIS was trained and supplied with weapons by the US, EU, and NATO. I don't know it that's true.

But I do I think that the main purpose of ISIS is to drive Syrians out of Syria. All these refugees will change the face of Europe. It will be part de-stabilization and part Islamitization ( Think I made that word up, but you know what I mean.)

The new world order that "Daddy" Bush and Kissinger used to extol needed less nationalism and soft borders. That's what the refugees will accomplish.

[+DieChecker]

I'm sure they trained up thousands. It's just that they got scared and ran off to Germany.

[questionmark]

I'm sure they trained up thousands. It's just that they got scared and ran off to Germany.

or discovered their 'faith' and ran over to ISIS....

The bottom line is: when you want to solve a conflict by military means you either send in your own military or you keep your sticky fingers from it.

[Yamato]

Would we need 'faith' to defend this country from invaders trying to control us? They don't either. But we latch onto this incidental (alleged) trait of the enemy anyway because it distracts people from assessing the policy.

A gang of nasties (the bad head choppers, not the good choppers) say "Hey we're the "Islamic State"" and the media promptly and endlessly reports "They're the Islamic State!" Normally I wouldn't shoot the messenger but in the case of our best frenemies ISIS, I'd make an exception.

This OP is yet another clear sign of failure. But no matter how much failure we get, we're too collectively stupid to change our policy. Because we want war, we want instability, we want regime change. The Bipartisan PNAC hard at work. And we blow a pink cloud of smoke up in the air about "peace" and our people are dupes enough to buy it. For those of you who think this is a battle of peace vs. Islam, use your brains already.

[ellapenella]

I want Rand Paul for President ! Sorry but , I'm so tired of all the lies & manipulation. I don't think the country is smart enough to vote for him.

[travelnjones]

4 or 5 isn't much. If not for the black water backlash i bet contracted security forces would have been cheaper.

[+and-then]

4 or 5 isn't much. If not for the black water backlash i bet contracted security forces would have been cheaper.

Bill O'Reilly of all people, forwarded an idea a year or so ago that people dissed him badly for but it would have been FAR more effective than this nonsense. He said to hire professional mercenaries. There are thousands of US vets with the knowledge and skills that would do the job for a big paycheck. But the US can't go there. We can be laughed at and taken advantage of by every tin horn on the planet but we can't use professionals to fight our enemies. Sounds like a good way to prevail - do nothing and hope for the best. How's that workin' for ya Oby? Twit...

[acidhead]

Again... at the end of the day Who does this benefit?

I was reading Bashir Al-Saads latest interview last night, after the R's prime time reality show debate, and I cannot get the interview out of my head. Al-Saad, I'm supposed to be programmed is an enemy of humanity. My Canadian GOV tells me this... the candidates last night including the trusted CNN pundits tell me this. Yet it's not the Syrian GOV interfering in another nations territory arming combatants. It's our GOV's interfering. It makes absolutely zero sense.

It's like I said earlier. There is no way in hell this has been an accident or an unintended failure to create an army of muslims to kill muslims. It was set up to fail. To create more armed villains.

Bashir Al-Saad basically said in his interview he would step down. That in a three step plan in syrian GOV reform the first step has only been implemented because of the conflict in Syria. If he were to step down immediately and leave the country who in their right mind believe for one second peace in Syria would result? He has said repeatedly and called for over a decade for the international community to come together and work towards solutions to terrorism not just in his country but the whole of the middle east. It always falls on deaf ears. Those ears who refuse to listen send artillery, create false accusations and do nothing as we are witnessing to terrorism. And we feel the repercussions back home each time we trade safety for freedom legislation.

Anyhow... I digress again... back to work.

[acidhead]

Bill O'Reilly of all people, forwarded an idea a year or so ago that people dissed him badly for but it would have been FAR more effective than this nonsense. He said to hire professional mercenaries. There are thousands of US vets with the knowledge and skills that would do the job for a big paycheck. But the US can't go there. We can be laughed at and taken advantage of by every tin horn on the planet but we can't use professionals to fight our enemies. Sounds like a good way to prevail - do nothing and hope for the best. How's that workin' for ya Oby? Twit...

The whole of the american military are nothing but paid mercenaries. Same as all western militaries. Without a paycheck who in their right mind would disembark for these wars today? The Iraq war proved to so many vets they're not fighting for the safety of America.

[Leonardo]

Again... at the end of the day Who does this benefit?

I was reading Bashir Al-Saads latest interview last night, after the R's prime time reality show debate, and I cannot get the interview out of my head. Al-Saad, I'm supposed to be programmed is an enemy of humanity. My Canadian GOV tells me this... the candidates last night including the trusted CNN pundits tell me this. Yet it's not the Syrian GOV interfering in another nations territory arming combatants. It's our GOV's interfering. It makes absolutely zero sense.

It's like I said earlier. There is no way in hell this has been an accident or an unintended failure to create an army of muslims to kill muslims. It was set up to fail. To create more armed villains.

Bashir Al-Saad basically said in his interview he would step down. That in a three step plan in syrian GOV reform the first step has only been implemented because of the conflict in Syria. If he were to step down immediately and leave the country who in their right mind believe for one second peace in Syria would result? He has said repeatedly and called for over a decade for the international community to come together and work towards solutions to terrorism not just in his country but the whole of the middle east. It always falls on deaf ears.

Well, of course. I mean, you need wars to be able to sell the weapons you manufacture. It's just a matter of who to manipulate into being at war with each other, and the natural antipathy between the two main Islamic denominations makes that choice, and the manipulation, so much easier.

It helps that they're foreign and there's a lot of oil underneath them which can be exploited when you are invited in/step in to "clean up".