Susan Rice: Training Syrian Rebels ‘Will Take Many Months’

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Training Syrian rebels to fight against ISIS “will take many months,” National Security Advisor Susan Rice reminded reporters at the daily White House briefing Friday.

Now that Congress has approved the strategy to arm and train the rebels, Rice cautioned “this is not going to happen overnight.”

“It is not something that one should expect will yield rapid and immediate fruit. This is a serious training program, and we are serious about vetting those that we will be training and equipping. So I can’t give you a precise deadline,” she said.

In addition to vetting the opposition fighters, the program also requires training facilities to be constructed, Rice noted.

As for airstrikes in Syria, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest failed repeatedly to give a direct answer when asked whether the president has authorized the strikes.

In a back-and-forth in the briefing room Friday, Earnest would only confirm what is already known.

“The president made a decision more than a week ago, that he announced to the nation, that he’s ready to broaden our airstrike campaign,” he said.

“We are prepared and the president has been clear that the United States is prepared to act in Syria, and when and how we choose to do that will be an operational decision,” Earnest said.

But does the Pentagon have the go-ahead from the president? Is it just a matter now of when the Pentagon pulls the trigger?

Earnest wouldn’t say.

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