Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels
President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar Assad.
Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an assault on its interests. The shuttering of the program is also an acknowledgment of Washington’s limited leverage for removing Assad.