Following revelations that the U.S. has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels but only four or five of them are actually on the battlefield, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday said key parts of the Obama administration’s policy on Syria have been a “failure.”
In an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Mrs. Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, said she wouldn’t abandon the policy of training Syrian rebels but would demand answers on why it’s failed so miserably.
“Where we are today is not where we were. Where we are today is we have a failed program,” she said. “I sure would push the Pentagon to take a hard look at why what we’ve done has been such a failure.”
The administration has tried to train moderate Syrian rebels and prepare them to fight the terrorist group the Islamic State, which controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
But military leaders admitted last week that, despite massive U.S. investments of time, money and manpower, only four or five Syrian rebels have gotten the needed training and are on the battlefield today.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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