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Too bad we can’t get our money back

Almost undoubtedly, Russian military advisers and weaponry being sent to Syria will do more to defeat the Islamic State terrorist army than has been accomplished by the United States.

They could hardly do worse.

Members of Congress have just learned what has been done with the $500 million they approved to train Syrian rebels to fight the IS. Plans had been to field a 5,000-man force, the lead elements of which took the field in July.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, was asked by a Senate Armed Services Committee member how many soldiers in the group remain in combat.

“We’re talking four or five,” Austin responded.

Not four or five hundred. Not even four or five dozen. Four or five.

It has been difficult to recruit troops for the U.S. program because, incredibly, the Syrian rebels are being told they will not be permitted to challenge that country’s regime – but only to fight the IS.

And, apparently, U.S. training is not very good or the beneficiaries of it are very unlucky: The first contingent of 54 soldiers was ambushed and nearly wiped out.

Failure of the training program should come as no surprise. It is part of an anti-IS strategy in both Syria and Iraq that is based on President Barack Obama’s wishful military thinking. The Russians, it should be noted, do not operate under similar illusions.

After hearing Austin’s report, several senators pronounced the program a failure.

One wonders why none asked if Congress could just get whatever is left of the $500 million back.

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