(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) The Obama administration's strategy to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria appears to be unraveling in Syria, with the extremist group reportedly cooperating with al Qaeda forces to rout U.S.-backed rebels.
One of the key elements of the administration's plan for Syria is to arm and train moderate rebels to complement the air assault on the extremist group that began in September.
But the training program hasn't started, and the rebel groups on which the plan depends are being crushed between the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Islamist extremists. Observers and rebel leaders say the U.S.-led bombing campaign has made it easier for its enemies to gang up on them.
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