US-led Coalition ‘encouraged’ by Peshmerga-ISF coordination talks

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman (US Air Force), Deputy Commander of the anti-ISIS Coalition, formally known as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), expressed the Coalition’s satisfaction with the ongoing discussions between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) to coordinate their operations in the disputed territories against the so-called Islamic State.

The last such meeting was on Monday. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Ekman stated, “We were really encouraged” by it, as he responded to a question from Kurdistan 24, “both for the substance of that meeting,” as well as its reflection of a “renewed willingness” to coordinate on the part of both parties “for the good of the nation’s security.”

Read More: Ministry of Peshmerga, Defense Ministry convene to discuss joint operations

The Islamic State no longer holds territory, Ekman explained, but has assumed the form of a low-level insurgency that hides in rural areas and rough terrain. That includes the areas in dispute between Erbil and Baghdad, where the terrorist group exploits the gap between the Peshmerga and ISF lines.

Before 2017, those areas were under the control of the Peshmerga, who were fairly effective in suppressing insurgent activity. But in October, Iran, and specifically Gen. Qasim Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), coordinated an assault by Iraqi forces against the Peshmerga after the Kurdish independence referendum the month before.

As that attack was being prepared, the US turned a blind eye, thinking it would preserve the unity of Iraq, as well as secure a victory for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the upcoming elections. But it failed to win him a second term, while it bolstered Iran’s influence in Iraq, as well as that of the Iranian-backed Shia militias.

Washington’s position then was, in effect, a continuation of the Obama-era policy of appeasing Iran in Iraq. However, those responsible for it have all been replaced, including the National Security Adviser; Secretaries of State and Defense; as well as lower-ranking officials, like the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition and the US ambassador in Iraq. Washington has now shifted toward a tougher stance against Tehran’s activities in Iraq.

Yet that still leaves the Islamic State active in the disputed territories. CJTF-OIR is actively encouraging the Peshmerga and ISF to work together in those areas to more effectively protect them against the terrorist group.

“Our goal,” Ekman explained, is that such coordination be developed to the point that it allows “no sanctuary” for the Islamic State in Iraq.

Success in Iraq allows Shift in CJTF-OIR’s Activities

Ekman stressed the extent to which the Islamic State has been decimated in Iraq. “Their leadership, their finances, their logistics, their media are all just shadows of what they used to be,” he said.

That has allowed CJTF-OIR to reduce, in a slow and coordinated fashion, its troop numbers in Iraq, and consolidate its presence there. It has already turned over many bases to the ISF.

Read More: Coalition to continue Iraq operations, as Patriot missiles arrive, and base consolidation proceeds

On July 25, CJTF-OIR will turn over another facility, the Besmaya base, to the ISF. “These transfers, to include Besmaya, reflect a shift to providing high-end advice and support to the operational command level,” Ekman stated.

But, as he explained, “The Iraqis still need our help” in three areas: “planning, our intelligence and surveillance capabilities, and our coalition airpower.”

“To provide this support, we activated a Military Advisory Group” on July 2, Ekman continued. It is located in Baghdad and consists of military advisors from 13 coalition member-states.

Syria: “Close Relationship” with the SDF

Ekman also said that two weeks before, he had accompanied Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the CENTCOM Commander, to northeast Syria, “and I want to highlight our close relationship with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),” he said.

“They are capturing ISIS lieutenants, busting smuggling networks, and denying Da’esh [ISIS] territory, critical infrastructure, and revenues,” Ekman continued. “Overall, the SDF is a strong, capable force, and we are committed to our partnership with them.”

In contrast to Iraq, where the US works in partnership with the government and at its invitation, the US opposes the regime in Damascus, he explained, and supports UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for free and fair elections, as part of a political settlement to the Syrian civil war.

Russian Forces in Northeast Syria

Until October 2019, there were no Russian troops in northeast Syria, where CJTF-OIR, in concert with the SDF, had established a stable administrative structure, which kept the Islamic State out of the area.

However, as former National Security Adviser John Bolton explains in his memoir, The Room Where it Happened, soon after April 2018, when he assumed that position, President Donald Trump told him that he wanted to withdraw from Syria.

Trump’s thinking was that Arab troops should replace US forces, and the Arabs should pay for the operation, as well. They were not interested, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was, and 18 months later, following a phone conversation between Trump and Erdogan, the White House announced that US forces would be leaving northeast Syria.

That decision, however, provoked opposition from key Republicans in Congress, as well as Trump’s base, including evangelical Christians, and it was soon reversed in part.

Read More: Broad opposition to Trump on Syria, including Republicans and evangelical Christians

However, Turkey carried out an incursion into some areas evacuated by Coalition forces—and behind the Turkish forces and their proxies came Russian troops.

The “ultimate goal” of the Russian forces “is to push the Americans out of northeast Syria,” a senior SDF official told the Voice of America last month.

Pressed by journalists to address reports of Russian harassment of US troops in northeast Syria, Ekman downplayed the problem.

“In terms of the overall purpose of the Russian presence in Syria, it’s obviously about the regime, which we oppose,” he said.

Ekman stated that there are “deconfliction protocols” for both air force activities and ground patrols, and “by-and-large” they have been followed.

Contacts between US and Russian forces occur “almost every day,” he said, but unprofessional conduct occurs only “on rare occasions,” he affirmed, as “both sides agree that neither nation wants any sort of miscalculation.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany