The Obama administration announced that it will no longer seek to scout and train moderate Syrian rebels to fight against the Islamic State. Instead, the Pentagon will focus its resources on equipping and enabling existing rebel groups that have already been vetted by the U.S. to defeat the terrorist group.

After spending years trying to identify suitable groups in Syria for training, the White House stated on Friday that it has abandoned its $500 million program to build a rebel force inside Syria, reports The New York Times. The remainder of the funds from the struggling program will be reallocated to provide lethal aid for groups already engaged in the battle, which may have a better chance at defeating ISIS, said government officials.

"We are not abandoning it; it still exists," said a Defense Department official under the condition of anonymity, reports ABC News. "We are going to redirect it out of existing authorities and funds."

While speaking in London today, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said that revisions made to the program were intended to improve it.

"We have been looking now for several weeks at ways to improve that program. I wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard, so we are looking to achieve basically the same kind of strategic objective, which is the right one, which is to enable capable forces on the ground to retake territory from ISIL and retake territory from extremism," he said.

According to federal officials, the Pentagon strategy to pull fighters out of Syria, teach them advanced skills and equip them to fight ISIS failed because many of the rebel groups were more focused on overthrowing Syria President Bashar al-Assad.

Another reason the U.S. failed to reach its goal of training up to 5,400 moderate Syrian rebel fighters within the first year was due to its rigorous vetting process that significantly slowed down recruitment.

"Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is now directing the Department of Defense to provide equipment packages and weapons to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by ISIL," said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

"We will monitor the progress these groups make and provide them with air support as they take the fight to ISIL," Cook added, according to The Washington Post.