WASHINGTON
The process of arming and training moderate Syrian opposition forces in the broader war against ISIL militants will take months, a senior U.S. official said Friday.
U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said that training facilities needed to be constructed in partnership with a host country and those being trained need to be vetted before being brought in.
"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," she said. "I can tell you we’ll move as fast as we reasonably can, but this is something that will take many months."
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives earlier this week approved Obama’s plan to arm and train moderate Syrian opposition forces.
Rice also reiterated President Barack Obama’s position that U.S. troops would not be deployed into Syria as part of the program as it will be hosted outside Syria in partnership with neighboring countries.
Responding to a question about France’s support for the mission by conducting airstrikes only in Iraq, risking a divided coalition, Rice said that the coalition will be unified and conducted as one operation.
"It’ll be under a common command. And we will continue to welcome the involvement of partners who will make different contributions based on their capacity, based on their varying political circumstances," she said.
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