Report on Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Posted by Tina

The following is taken from a transcript of a briefing on the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, posted by Sundance at The Conservative Treehouse. Given the media obsession with Trump and Russia, it’s good to see something of substance. I wonder how many peple are even aware of our coalition efforts in the ME? The number could be quite daunting. But, if we have to turn to a blogger, I’m happy to do it.

There’s good news on the ISIS front. The report is too long to post in full here. Brett McGurk’s report follows up on an earlier speech by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson:

…I want to focus on the overall campaign, as a global campaign, but dive in a little bit to the so-called “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria and kind of bring you into what we’re doing every day and how it’s working interagency throughout our government, and particularly our diplomats here at the State Department.

A few topline points – I think this is important – if you go back to when ISIS really arrived on the international scene back in 2014, we had 40,000 foreign fighters from 110 countries around the world pouring into Syria and Iraq. They controlled what was effectively a quasi-state. They were able to mass and maneuver force all around Iraq and Syria, taking entire cities, controlling millions of people under their domain. Since that time, they have lost about 70,000 square kilometers of territory in Iraq and Syria. About 78 percent of the territory they used to hold in Iraq, they can no longer operate in, and about 58 percent of the territory they used to hold in Syria, they can no longer operate in.

Importantly, of all that territory that they have lost, they have not regained. When our coalition supports elements on the ground to retake territory from ISIS, they have never been able to reclaim that territory. So this is not a campaign in which you go and you clear, you can’t hold, and they come back. They have never been able to retake any of this ground and we’re going to make sure that that continues. Importantly – not just territory, but even more important, people. Five – almost 5 million people who had been living under ISIS are no longer living under ISIS. They have been liberated by coalition-enabled operations on the ground.

Also critically important, a few years ago you saw migrants and refugees pouring out of this part of the world. We have now reversed that flow. In Iraq alone, about 2 million people have returned to their homes in areas that have been cleared from ISIS. These are areas used to be under the control of this terrorist group. Now, you have people actually returning to their homes – 2 million people. That is almost unprecedented in a conflict like this in terms of getting returnees back, and it’s due to a lot of the work that the Secretary mentioned here at the podium the other day about our stabilization and humanitarian effort that goes in parallel with any military campaign. (continues)

The following is excerpted from the remainder of the speech to highlight some of the achievements:

Nearly 30 percent of all the territory that has been retaken from ISIS – about 20,000 square kilometers – has actually happened in the last six months.

…the campaign against Mosul is now finished and… about 45 percent of Raqqa is now cleared. This is due to some key changes that were put in place very early on – three changes – initiatives from President Trump: (1) the delegation of tactical authority from the White House, from Washington, down through the chain of command to our commanders on the ground. … (2) before we do a military operation, we actually surround the enemy so that foreign fighters in particular cannot escape … (3) we’re working as a government hand-in-glove with our colleagues in Treasury, the Department of Defense, here at the State Department, and within in the NSC to make sure that we’re taking advantage of opportunities, working not just in Iraq and Syria, but also to sever the financial connections and propaganda networks that continue to fuel terrorist groups like this.

Follow the link to read about these coordinated efforts in detail. It’s wonderful to see reports that show the white hats from around the world are winning again. The coalition is working together and as towns are liberated, roads are cleared and supplies are moving in.The flow of refugees is ebbing and citizens have begun to return to their homes. McGurk describes our policy of stabilization:

… committed to stabilization, and that word is very important. This is not reconstruction; it’s not nation building. Stabilization is demining. That means setting the conditions for people to return to their homes. ISIS leaves landmines everywhere so that people can’t return. We are committed to help to do all we can by training locals to help demine critical infrastructure sites in critical places to allow people to come home.

Stabilization also means rubble removal so that trucks and equipment can get into areas of need. It means basic electricity, sewage, water, the basic essentials to allow populations to come back to their home. And we have found – learning some lessons from Iraq which I’ll get to – that this focus on the basic elements of stabilization is a critical enabler for allowing people to come back to their home – to their homes. …

… don’t look to the United States to fit the bill for long-term reconstruction. This is an international problem. ISIS is a challenge for the entire world.

That is why we built a coalition of 74 partners, one of the largest coalitions in history, and I also give great credit to the Iraqi Government because they are looking to fund – how to fund their long-term reconstruction needs. They have a standby arrangement with the IMF, and they just passed a very difficult budget amendment through their parliament.

Another important development is a new diplomatic relationship between Iraq and the Saudi’s, which they arranged themselves. Their border has been closed since 1990 so this arrangement opens up a “critical commerce route” that will facilitate post-ISIS efforts by the coalition.

I encourage you to read the transcript in full as well as the question and answer segment.

Anyone who thinks President Trump doesn’t know how to get things done might want to rethink their biased, uninformed position.