US Congress Must Release $350Mln Funding for Syria Train-and-Equip Program

The US Congress must release nearly $350 million in blocked funding to support the new version of the Pentagon’s train-and-equip program for local fighters against the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told the US Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Pentagon cancelled the first iteration of the training program in October after failing to train more than a handful of local fighters that were ultimately ineffective against the terrorist group.

"We’ve moved away from last year’s disappointments with the former approach to the [Section 1209 train-and-equip] program, and we need your support to fully overcome them, focus on the program as it is now and, in particular, release the $349 million in 1209 funding currently blocked by Congress," Carter testified.

US officials have estimated that the cost of that failed training effort was around $500 million.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama ordered 250 additional special operations forces to move to Syria to engage in a non-combat role. The Pentagon said that the additional forces will be providing support to the regional forces engaged in the fight against Daesh.