Enduring Defeat of ISIS: Not Leaving Iraq, Syria Any Time Soon, Military Official Says

Focus Remains on Enduring Defeat of ISIS, Military Official Says

JAN. 22, 2020 | BY TERRI MOON CRONK , Todd Lopez DOD NEWS

Even amid significant successes, the enduring defeat of ISIS remains the focus of U.S. forces and partners in Iraq and Syria, an effort that is vital to U.S. national security, the deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon today, Air Force Maj. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said important progress has been made lately in the OIR realm.

“I would say [we’ve made] very good progress, to the point we’re able to shift the focus of CJTF-OIR more along the lines of training, advising and assisting the Iraqi security forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces on the Syrian side of the border, and they’ve shown themselves to be willing partners throughout the last nine months I’ve been deployed there,” the general said.

The big picture he added, is that ISIS still poses a threat.

“They have the potential to resurge if we take pressure off of them for too long a period of time,” Grynkewich said. “In the short term, as we’ve adjusted some of our activities downrange and in Iraq and Syria, I don’t think there’s an immediate threat of an immediate resurgence. But the more time we take pressure off them, the more that threat will continue to grow.”

The United States stays in constant contact and communication with its partners in Iraq and Syria, who have been helpful in assisting the United States with force-protection concerns over the last several weeks, Grynkewich said. 

In Syria, he said, the United States continues to partner with the SDF in addition to its efforts to secure critical infrastructure to prevent any of it from falling back into the hands of ISIS. 

U.S. forces in Syria will leave when local forces are capable of keeping ISIS in check on their own, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said.

“In short, the mission remains the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Esper told the House Armed Services Committee today during a hearing on U.S. policy in Syria and the broader region. U.S. forces in Syria are working in partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces, he noted.

“The SDF has been a great partner in the sense of providing very capable ground forces,” Esper told the panel. “What we provide for them are the enablers — principally, the air support and intelligence, things like that — that help us defeat ISIS as we see ISIS pops up.”

U.S. forces are fighting ISIS from Africa into Afghanistan, Esper said. “The metric we have set out for this in terms of when we could consider redeploying … would be when we feel confident that local security and police forces are capable of handling any type of resurgence … of ISIS,” he added.

Esper told lawmakers the United States already has had success in defeating ISIS, including the destruction of the physical caliphate, the liberation of 7.7 million people who had been living under the caliphate’s rule, and a series of successful operations that resulted in the deaths of ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and a top deputy.

“The Department of Defense remains committed to working with our partners to ensure ISIS is unable to mount a resurgence,” the secretary said.

Esper also told the House panel that while the National Defense Strategy prioritizes nations such as Russia and China as top security challenges for the United States, vigilance in countering threats posed by Iran and violent extremist organizations remain a priority.

“The United States strategy in the Middle East seeks to ensure the region is not a safe haven for terrorists, is not dominated by any power hostile to the U.S., and contributes to a stable global energy market,” Esper said.

The secretary laid out six objectives for the U.S. military in the Middle East:1Using dynamic U.S. military presence with strategic depth to deter and, if necessary, respond to aggression;2Strengthening the defensive capabilities of regional partners;3Advancing partnerships and burden-sharing with allies and partners to address shared security concerns;4Protecting freedom of navigation;5Denying safe haven to terrorists that threaten the homeland; and6Mitigating threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.

“As the DOD continues to implement the [National Security Strategy], the stability of the Middle East remains important to our nation’s security,” Esper said. “As such, we will continue to calibrate all of our actions to deter conflict, to avoid unintended escalation, and to enable our partners to defend themselves against regional aggressors. In doing so, we will preserve the hard-won gains of the past and ensure the security of the United States and our vital interests.”

U.S. forces in Syria will leave when local forces are capable of keeping ISIS in check on their own, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said.

“In short, the mission remains the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Esper told the House Armed Services Committee today during a hearing on U.S. policy in Syria and the broader region. U.S. forces in Syria are working in partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces, he noted.

“The SDF has been a great partner in the sense of providing very capable ground forces,” Esper told the panel. “What we provide for them are the enablers — principally, the air support and intelligence, things like that — that help us defeat ISIS as we see ISIS pops up.”

U.S. forces are fighting ISIS from Africa into Afghanistan, Esper said. “The metric we have set out for this in terms of when we could consider redeploying … would be when we feel confident that local security and police forces are capable of handling any type of resurgence … of ISIS,” he added.

Esper told lawmakers the United States already has had success in defeating ISIS, including the destruction of the physical caliphate, the liberation of 7.7 million people who had been living under the caliphate’s rule, and a series of successful operations that resulted in the deaths of ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and a top deputy.

“The Department of Defense remains committed to working with our partners to ensure ISIS is unable to mount a resurgence,” the secretary said.

Esper also told the House panel that while the National Defense Strategy prioritizes nations such as Russia and China as top security challenges for the United States, vigilance in countering threats posed by Iran and violent extremist organizations remain a priority.

“The United States strategy in the Middle East seeks to ensure the region is not a safe haven for terrorists, is not dominated by any power hostile to the U.S., and contributes to a stable global energy market,” Esper said.

The secretary laid out six objectives for the U.S. military in the Middle East:1Using dynamic U.S. military presence with strategic depth to deter and, if necessary, respond to aggression;2Strengthening the defensive capabilities of regional partners;3Advancing partnerships and burden-sharing with allies and partners to address shared security concerns;4Protecting freedom of navigation;5Denying safe haven to terrorists that threaten the homeland; and6Mitigating threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.

“As the DOD continues to implement the [National Security Strategy], the stability of the Middle East remains important to our nation’s security,” Esper said. “As such, we will continue to calibrate all of our actions to deter conflict, to avoid unintended escalation, and to enable our partners to defend themselves against regional aggressors. In doing so, we will preserve the hard-won gains of the past and ensure the security of the United States and our vital interests.”