Summary
The United States was only training about 60 Syrian opposition fighters to battle Islamic State as of July 3, far below expectations, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress Tuesday, citing rigorous U.S. vetting of recruits.
Some Syrian rebel leaders say the force the United States is training risks sowing divisions and cannot succeed without directly targeting Syrian government forces, who are currently off-limits for U.S. offensive operations.
Carter told Congress the number of recruits would increase as the United States learned how to better streamline vetting.
Carter said he believed the Syrian recruits needed some U.S. protection but said no decisions had been made on what assistance to provide.
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