“A day after President Obama said the U.S. strategy against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) depends on local forces, Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged to the Senate Tuesday that the administration is only supporting 60 moderate fighters in Syria,” CBS News reports.  

“‘This number is much smaller than we’d hoped for at this point, partly because of the vetting standards,’ Carter admitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee, calling the vetting process ‘rigorous.'”  

“Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Arizona, slammed the administration’s efforts, telling Carter that 60 was ‘not a very impressive number.’ He suggested that efforts to recruit more fighters would fall short unless the administration could provide greater assurances that the U.S would protect them from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”