Fiasco: U.S.-trained rebels in Syria are unaccounted for, may have been killed or deserted

Allah:

Late-breaking news this afternoon from the tip of the smart-power spear:

CNN JUST IN: Remaining U.S. trained rebels in Syria are unaccounted for. May have fled, or been killed; whereabouts unknown.

— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) August 6, 2015

How bad it is it? Bad enough that even Vox won’t try to spin for Obama on this one:

If you’re wondering what CNN means when it refers to the “remaining” U.S.-trained rebels in Syria, let me explain. Our grand effort to roll back ISIS there and eventually unseat Assad started a month ago with roughly 60 — no typo — fighters composing a group known as Division 30. A week ago, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, kidnapped seven members of Division 30; a day later they killed five more and wounded 18, cutting the group’s manpower in half. Among the people kidnapped, reportedly, was Division 30’s commander. In response, the group has … taken to Facebook to ask the Nusra Front to please leave them alone and focus on the common enemy.

Then came more news this morning:

A group of Syrian rebels that includes fighters trained by the United States have declared their refusal to fight al-Qaida’s affiliate in the country, the Nusra Front, following a series of kidnappings by the militant group.

A source in Division 30, which has endured a campaign of kidnappings by the Nusra Front, said they also oppose the American air strikes carried out in the last few days against the al-Qaida-linked fighters…

“With all the immense military power the US has at its disposal, the start to the mission is nothing short of an embarrassment and if it has any hope of succeeding, it needs to show results fast,” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and an expert on Syrian insurgent groups.

That was the last news until CNN’s tweet, raising the question of what happened to the 30 remaining members of Division 30.

Read more