The Wall Street Journal reports that “moderate Syrian rebels will need some degree of U.S. support and protection after they have been trained, the top U.S. military officer said Wednesday, but added that the “scope and scale” of the protection is still being debated.”  

“Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. program to train the rebels won’t succeed unless the fighters believe they have a ‘reasonable chance of survival.’”  

“Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gen. Dempsey said the rebels trained by the U.S. need to be assured that they will be protected by the U.S., or else few will join the training program.”