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  "authors": [
    "Mario Abou Zeid",
    "Mike Lyons",
    "Lama Fakih"
  ],
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Source: Getty

In The Media
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Will Training Moderate Syrian Rebels Work Against ISIL?

Four years into the conflict in Syria, the United States is screening opposition fighters for the first time to boost war against the Islamic State.

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By Mario Abou Zeid, Mike Lyons, Lama Fakih
Published on Feb 20, 2015
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Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Source: Al Jazeera Inside Story

The US has screened about 1,200 moderate Syrian rebels to be trained and equipped to battle ISIL in Syria. The U.S. Congress has authorised 500 million dollars to train 5,000 opposition fighters over the next year.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have offered to host training camps, with work expected to get under way as early as March or April.

While their focus is clear, the new U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter also sees other potential benefits Addressing the Congress, he said: “The forces that we're supporting there have first and foremost the job...of defeating ISIL. But I believe that they also need to be creating the conditions for the removal of Assad.”

So, nearly four years into the conflict, with a death toll estimated by the U.N. at more than 220,000, what are the U.S. priorities in Syria, and where do its international allies stand?

This interview was originally aired on Al Jazeera Inside Story.

About the Authors

Mario Abou Zeid

Former Research Analyst, Middle East Center

Abou Zeid was a research analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center, where his work focuses on political developments in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Mike Lyons

Lama Fakih

Lama Fakih is Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa director and the director of the Beirut office.

Authors

Mario Abou Zeid
Former Research Analyst, Middle East Center
Mario Abou Zeid
Mike Lyons
Lama Fakih

Lama Fakih is Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa director and the director of the Beirut office.

Lama Fakih
Political ReformSecurityLevantSyriaMiddle East

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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