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By Phil Stewart and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States does not appear to have clear-cut legal authority to protect Syrian rebels it trains from attack by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, even under new war powers, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday. Still, Carter told Congress, a final determination had not yet been made. President Barack Obama's government says the Syria train-and-equip program will complement the campaign against Islamic State militants across the border in Iraq. The top U.S. military officer, General Martin Dempsey, testifying alongside Carter, warned that the United States would need to give some assurances of protection to the new recruits it is injecting into Syria's messy civil war.More...