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.
