WND EXCLUSIVE

U.S. DOESN'T KNOW WHO 'MODERATE' REBEL TRAINEES WILL SHOOT

Pentagon admits forces equipped to fight ISIS could go after Assad

F. Michael Maloof

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon says it is mobilizing 400 U.S. military trainers and an almost equal number of “enablers” to train Syrian opposition forces to fight the jihadist army ISIS.

But U.S. officials can’t guarantee the forces won’t use that training to attack the Syrian military, even though the Obama administration contends its goal isn’t to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In response to questions from WND at a press conference, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby acknowledged he could not ensure that the trained Syrian opposition fighters will be used only to attack ISIS.

He reiterated a prior background Pentagon briefing in which he said the goal is to “build the capabilities of the moderate Syrian fighters to defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control, promote the conditions for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Syria, and empower trainees to go” on the offensive against ISIS.

Such uncertainty has raised the prospect that the Obama administration quietly has reversed its position and will seek to topple Assad.

Underscoring the uncertainty is the fact that Turkey is one of three countries that has agreed to host training of Syrian opposition forces, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The free WND special report “ISIS Rising,” by Middle East expert and former Department of Defense analyst Michael Maloof, will answer your questions about the jihadist army threatening the West.

In addition to hosting a portion of the training over a period of a year, Turkey also will provide trainers, as will other Arab countries in the region.

The government of Sunni Islamic Turkey has made it clear, however, that its first priority is to topple the government of Assad – who is Alawite, an offshoot of Shia Islam – not fight ISIS.

In addition, Turkey has made it clear that any fighters trained in the country will not be barred from fighting Syrian government forces.

Last October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that Washington back a ground war aimed at overthrowing Assad.

In addition, Turkey continues to be a conduit for laundering money and providing fighters for ISIS.

It’s the rebels’ decision to make

Kirby said the decision regarding who will be the target will be up to the leaders of the Syrian opposition.

He said the criteria for providing U.S. trainers – who will include a combination of Special Forces and conventional forces – includes giving Syrian opposition forces the ability to protect their homes and to go after ISIS fighters.

He said identification of U.S. units, processing and the cutting of orders for the initial 400 U.S. trainers haven’t been completed. He added that there is no active recruiting effort under way to identify candidates for training.

There are discussions under way with “Syrian moderate groups,” which he did not identify, who are being consulted on identifying trainees.

“If it all stays on track – and that’s a big if – training should begin in the spring,” Kirby said.

He said that “enablers” who will provide support for the trainers could match the numbers of trainers, and the numbers for the initial U.S. contribution to training could swell to 1,000 personnel.

Kirby said about 5,000 trainees are expected to be trained over a period of one year. Each training program lasts up to three months.

ISIS, however, is recruiting thousands of fighters a month from the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Some estimates suggest ISIS has some 100,000 fighters, according to Iraqi sources.

Foreign estimates put the figure at closer to 50,000, even though ISIS is gaining an increasing number of jihadist groups who have sworn allegiance. Some have come even from non-contiguous regions apart from the portions of Syria and Iraq ISIS has claimed for its Islamic caliphate.

Kirby said there will be “significant vetting” of candidates for training and a “multi-layered process.”

He was quick to add, however, that it will be impossible to entirely eliminate insider attacks, although a component of the U.S. presence, he said, will be American personnel for “force protection” to protect U.S. military service members.

Kirby said bitter lessons from the past have been learned from a number of so-called “green on blue” attacks by Afghan security forces that have killed U.S. military personnel.

WND previously reported U.S.-trained Islamists in Jordan had joined ISIS.

The fighters were predominantly Syrian rebels who received training in 2012 from U.S. instructors at a secret base in Jordan, only to later join ISIS.

Kirby indicated that such training continues, but he refused to give details on the program or regarding the kind of training the fighters were receiving and how they were vetted.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/u-s-doesnt-know-who-moderate-rebel-trainees-will-shoot/#YQ1O2EdYyZCqIA4w.99