U.S. spent $2M per fighter on failed Syrian program

When the Penta

WASHINGTON gon pulled the plug last month on its plan to train and field a force of moderate Syrians to combat the Islamic State, it had spent $384 million, or $2 million per fighter, for a program that produced dismal results, according to interviews and spending figures obtained by USA TODAY.

The Pentagon tabbed $500 mil- lion in 2015 for the effort and promised to graduate 3,000 trained and equipped fighters this year and 5,000 annually thereafter to combat the Islamic State, also known as ISIL.

The program was suspended after $384 million was spent. Of the 180 Syrians vetted, trained and equipped, 145 fighters remain in the program. Of those, 95 are in Syria. Two of the four training camps the Pentagon designated for the program in the Middle East never hosted a recruit.

The Pentagon disputes the $2 million figure per trainee, saying the actual cost is $30,000 per trainee. The “vast majority” of the funds paid for weapons, equipment and ammunition, some of which the U.S.-led coalition still has, Navy Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a spokeswoman, said. In addition, some trained fighters have been calling in airstrikes, and ammunition designated for the trainees has been given to other forces fighting ISIL, Smith said.

“Our investment in the Syria train and equip program should not be viewed purely in fiscal terms,” Smith said.

In Iraq, the Pentagon has spent nearly $1 billion training and equipping security forces to counter ISIL, according to Mark Wright, a spokesman. Despite that, the terror group holds two major cities: Mosul and Ramadi.

The Syria program had been a centerpiece of U.S. strategy to confront the Islamic State after its success at capturing cities and territory across Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon announced that it planned to recruit, vet, train and equip thousands of Syrian “moderates” to protect their villages from the Islamic State onslaught.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., a member of the Armed Services Committee, blasted the Pentagon for not ending the program sooner. “The Syria train and equip process was ill-thought-out and spectacularly wasteful,” Speier said. “It borders on malfeasance that so much money was spent before the plug was pulled.”