Ash Carter's unwelcome news: Only 60 Syrian rebels fit for training - Austin Wright and Philip Ewing - POLITICO: Defense Secretary Ash Carter caused a stir Tuesday when he told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the $500 million program to train and equip “moderate” Syrian rebels to take on the Islamic State had so far yielded just 60 vetted candidates.
Republicans quickly pounced on the number — far short of a goal for at least 5,400 fighters in the first year — as evidence that President Barack Obama’s strategy for defeating the terrorist group isn’t working, a day after the president defended the plan at a rare Pentagon press briefing. And Democrats quickly went into damage-control mode, noting there are valid reasons the number is so small.
