In testimony yesterday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted that the most that could be done by way of creating an effective Free Syrian Army – that is, the forces of the moderate opposition to Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad – was to train a force of 5,000 over the next year.

That’s probably realistic, in the sense that the Free Syrian Army is starting from a very low point, but it’s also a tacit confession that the prospects for lasting success against the Islamic State enemy are slim and distant.