Deputy Coalition commander visits northeast Syria to show ongoing commitment to SDF

Major General Kevin Copsey, Deputy Commander of the US-led anti-ISIS Coalition in Iraq and Syria, said on a visit to northeastern Syria on Tuesday that the Coalition remains committed to fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with whom they have fought the Islamic State for years.

Hasakah, Northeast Syria (Kurdistan 24) – Major General Kevin Copsey, Deputy Commander of the US-led anti-ISIS Coalition in Iraq and Syria, said on a visit to northeastern Syria on Tuesday that the Coalition remains committed to fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with whom they have fought the Islamic State for years.

A Kurdistan 24 journalist was granted exclusive access by the US-led Coalition to accompany the Coalition delegation as it traveled to Syria from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

“I think as the Deputy Commander of Inherent Resolve this has been a really important trip to showcase the professionalism and the will of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their defeat of ISIS and what we have seen is that the SDF, along with Iraqi security forces and the coalition, have dismantled the caliphate and 100,000 square kilometers,” Copsey told Kurdistan 24.

“So we remain committed to supporting Iraqi forces, the Peshmerga, and the Syrian Democratic Forces as they finish that defeat.”

The Islamic State, he explained, “has been degraded to a criminal organization. It’s all about theft, kidnapping, and extortion. They are in a survival mode now.”

“They hide out in rural areas and caves,” the commander continued. “They get targeted all the time by the various security apparatus both in northeast Syria and Iraq.”

Acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller announced on Nov. 17 that President Donald Trump had ordered a major cut in US forces in Afghanistan and a lesser cut in the level of US forces in Iraq.

According to the announced plan, the number of US troops in Afghanistan is to be reduced from 4,500 to 2,500. In Iraq, levels have already been cut from 3,000 to 2,500.

Trump tried to withdraw US troops from Syria in October 2019, but his order met fierce resistance from his own political base and the decision was largely reversed.

Copsey also underlined that the recent US announcement was purely focused on Iraq and that it reflects how Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, and the SDF increasingly conduct operations against the Islamic State completely by themselves. As a result, the Coalition has moved from partner operations alnogside local forces to a mission focused primarily on training and advising.

“The work is being done so well by the Iraqi security forces: They have the right equipment, they do their own training, and they are professional in operations,” Copsey added. “So, we cannot outstay our welcome. We are still here on the invitation of the Iraqi government. As long that’s still in place we continue our support at an operational advising level.”

However, he said that there is still substantial work to do in Syria, where “we stay committed alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces.” 

Nicholas Heras, of Washington DC’s Institute for the Study of War, previously told Kurdistan 24, “The US cannot sustain the counter-ISIS mission in Syria without the vital supply route from” the neighboring Kurdistan Region, ensuring Erbil's continued importance to the Coalition's Syria mission.

Coalition spokesperson Col. Wayne Marotto told Kurdistan 24 on Thursday in an undisclosed Coalition military base in Syria that the troop reduction is good news, “because it shows how the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) continue to improve, training themselves and conducting independent operations.”

He added that, while President Trump reduced troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of troops in Syria “went up a little bit from 900 to 1000 in this area.” 

“Again, it just shows the commitment that the US-led Coalition has in this area and we want to provide stability and that security in that area so there can be some economic development, because without that stability and security, we’re not going to have any economic development in this area. So, we keep on providing that.” 

“We create time and space and we keep ISIS from regaining in that area, from gaining any foothold in the area that they had before and to control those oil wells and they use that money to finance terrorism.”

Although the SDF and Coalition announced the territorial defeat of the Islamic State in Syria back in March 2019, sleeper cell attacks by the terrorist group persist in the liberated territories.

“I cannot speculate what will happen if we would leave, but while we are here, there won’t be a resurgence,” said Marotto. “There will be some pockets of ISIS and we will find them through human intelligence and either use airstrikes or use SDF to go after them and kill them or capture them,” he concluded. “With the US and Coalition presence here, you won’t have ISIS taking over whole villages and towns.” 

He specified that the Coalition commander's visit was part of a greater effort to show that the Coalition will continue to provide security and stability to the area.

In July, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, South Carolina) first revealed that Syrian Kurds had signed a deal with US firm Delta Crescent Energy to modernize oil fields in Syria. 

It is unclear what the exact policy of the incoming administration will be regarding the US presence in Syria, but both President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris strongly criticized Trump following his October decision to pull troops from the embattled nation.

“Without stability and security,” said Marotto, “international corporations and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) do not want to come here.”

Editing by John J. Catherine