US to continue mission in Middle East, Pentagon
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – In a talk at the Wilson Center, the deputy assistant secretary for defense for the Middle East, Dana Stroul, discussed Iran and Islamic State Organization (ISIS) ongoing threat, stressing that the US mission in the middle east is far from over.
Iran is the leading source of instability in the Middle East, and ISIS also remains a threat to the region, even though the organization does not hold territory anymore in Iraq and Syria, the deputy assistant secretary for defense for the Middle East said
Iran’s continued support of armed proxies and terrorists, its proliferation of advanced lethal drones, its ballistic missile program, maritime aggression and smuggling activities at sea all constitute reasons why Iran is a threat, Stroul added.
Stroul said that US troops in Syria “experience on a very regular basis threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxies.”
She noted ISIS, too, continued to present a security threat, despite holding no territory in Iraq and Syria.
ISIS remains intent on reconstituting and continues to direct and inspire attacks in the region and beyond it, Stroul added
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has reaffirmed US commitment to maintain the US forces presence in Iraq and Syria to work with their local partners in an advise-and-assist capacity in their war against the terrorist group, Stroul said.
“But the reality is this is not going to be achievable in the short term, which is why we continue to emphasize in every policy and strategy document our commitment to maintaining US force presence in Iraq and in Syria,” the deputy assistant secretary added.
Stroul also discussed how the tenacity of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, to reject the political solution and stick to the military solution “has left the Syrian people more vulnerable today than ever before.”
“Syrians today are more hungry, more impoverished and further away from achieving any measure of political reform than they have been at any point in [the Syrian] conflict,” she said.
With al-Assad’s indifference to the suffering around him, she touched upon the Biden administration’s approach to deal with the situation in Syria.
“The administration’s approach to Syria is grounded in several essential priorities: expanding humanitarian access throughout Syria, preserving and maintaining our military presence in partnership with local partners, including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to maintain pressure on ISIS.”
The Department of Defense operates as part of the 79 nations and five international organizations in the global coalition to defeat ISIS, providing an array of military capabilities, funding and political support to the campaign against ISIS, Stroul said.