Why Washington's 'Rebel Support' Plans Keep Failing

The Trump administration’s announcement that it was ending the CIA’s covert program of support for “moderate” Syrian rebel forces provides hope that U.S. officials may finally be learning from their policy failures. However, it must be kept in mind that the CIA program was merely one component of Washington’s larger strategy to back insurgents trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s government. It remains unclear whether that objective and the other measures to bring it about also will be abandoned.