The Obama administration fleshed out its goals for US-trained Syrian rebels on Sept. 16, prompting bipartisan concerns even among some of the opposition fighters' biggest supporters on Capitol Hill.
Defense officials told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee that they were confident the rebel force would put its three-year war with Bashar al-Assad's forces on the back burner as the Syrian opposition focuses on battling the Islamic State (IS). They insisted that would prevent the US from getting sucked into Syria's civil war while creating an acceptable partner to combat IS inside its home base.