US-Backed Syrian Rebel Group on Verge of Collapse

Stars & Stripes, via Military.com ^ | December 14, 2015 | Slobodan Lekic

[Timber Rattler]

The main Western-backed Arab rebel group in Syria appears on the verge of collapse because of low morale, desertions, and distrust of its leaders by the rank and file, threatening U.S. efforts to put together a ground force capable of defeating the Islamic State and negotiating an end to the Syrian civil war.

"After five years of this war, the people are just tired ... and so are our fighters," said Jaseen Salabeh, a volunteer in the Free Syrian Army, which was formed in September 2011 by defectors from the army of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Free Syrian Army, or FSA, some of whose members are trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, is the biggest and most secular of the scores of rebel groups fighting the Assad government. Although defeating the Islamic State is the focus of Western attention, the U.S. believes there can be no lasting peace in Syria, and no elimination of the Islamic State there, as long as Assad remains in power.

[Timber Rattler]

[Patton@Bastogne]

can we send Juan McCain over to help them ... along with Obama and Valerie Jarrett ?

[ScottinVA]

Yet..another..failure.

[ScottinVA]

Obama’s three-step strategy for “fighting” ISIS.

1. Blame the Bush administration.
2. Falsely claim success while employing only enough token effort to manage ISIS off the front “media” pages.
3. Pass the whole mess to the next president.

[C210N]

Oh well, I’m sure their US-provided weaponry won’t have to go to waste.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Obama never gave a damn if the FSA succeeded or not. His aim was another theocratic government like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Correct

[DiogenesLamp]

US-Backed Syrian Rebel Group on Verge of Collapse

This is what you get when you let your nation be run by an unqualified idiot who you put into office because he was a color that made you feel good.

[Lazamataz]

In other words, Russia kicked our asses.

[DiogenesLamp]

Yet..another..failure.

And people still want to claim this Affirmative Action fool is some sort of "genius." He hasn't done anything right yet.

[lacrew]

“U.S. believes there can be...no elimination of the Islamic State there, as long as Assad remains in power.”

Ponder how stupid that statement is.

[cincinnati65]

I said it before, and I'll say it again....

Once you accept that Obama's foreign policy is centered in the creation of a Muslim state in the Middle East, stretching from Libya to Pakistan, then EVERYTHING he's done falls into place.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Of course not. I’m sure that weaponry will end up in the hands of ISIS or Al Queda and will be used against our troops next time they are sent to the middle east. Or, perhaps even worse than that, they will be used against civilian targets in Europe or the USA.

[Parley Baer]

Hmmmm, is this not the same group that was reported to be down to 5 members?

[EagleUSA]

Blame goes to the Congress....for letting Obama stay in the WH.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Absolutely.

[Hugin]

These guys are allied with Al Qaeda. Good riddance.

[SpaceBar]

trained by the Central Intelligence Agency...

The CIA has outlived its usefulness, assuming it had any. This spook operation has done nothing over the last sixty years except prop up some dictators, topple others, stir up crap across the globe, train our future enemies, and operate as a true shadow government completely outside any sort of oversight or accountability. They came into existence as a counter-weight to the likes of nazi intelligence and the KGB. Those entities are gone... our cold war troublemakers remain.

[tumblindice]

“He hasn’t done anything right yet.”
As far as Cloward-Piven goes, he’s on a roll.

[Rusty0604]

It is STUPID.