Four years after the start of the Syrian civil war and almost nine months after Congress first authorized funding to train rebels in that conflict, the United States has begun offering training to moderate Syrian rebels to combat theIslamic State militant group.



Jordanian officials told reporters on Thursday that coalition forces have begun training prescreened rebels at a site inside the Middle Eastern kingdom. Training locations are also expected to begin operation in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Congress appropriated $500m to train up to 5,000 Syrian fighters in September 2014. Currently, just 400 rebels are being trained in Jordan out of 3,750 potential volunteers. Much of the delay has been due to the vetting process required to ensure that recruits are not extremists.

US Central Command (Centcom) on Thursday, said that the training will cover a range of combat skills, “including marksmanship, casualty care, land navigation, communications, leadership and law of armed conflict and human rights principles”.

On Capitol Hill, some of the most forthright supporters of a more interventionist policy in Syria criticized the Obama administration’s training program as inadequate.

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Senator John McCain pushed for a no-fly zone over Syria and told the Guardian “I have no confidence in [the training] process whatsoever.” The 2008 Republican presidential nominee added: “I don’t think it’s possible to recruit a young man to be trained in Jordan or Saudi Arabia or some place and go back in and tell him you’re not going to protect him from being barrel-bombed. It’s immoral.”

McCain’s statements were echoed by Senator Lindsey Graham who called the program “fatally flawed”. Graham, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, told the Guardian, “the program’s going to fail. It’s impossible for it to succeed because when you send them back into Syria, you’re telling them they can only fight Isil, which they’re not going to do. If they get any strength at all or capability, Assad’s going to attack them.” The three-term South Carolina senator said sadly that any rebels that the United States trains will be sent back to “certain death”.

The United States has long been plagued by uncertain policy in the Syria conflict. While the Obama administration has insisted that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad must step down, the emergence of Isis has complicated the situation as has the White House backing away from Obama’s “red line” on the use of chemical weapons by the regime.

A Pentagon spokesperson told the Guardian: “We’re on track to meet program timelines and will make announcements regarding any milestones when appropriate.”