US: ISIS ‘Needs to be Taken Very, Very Seriously’

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – The U.S. returned to work on Tuesday, as the long Labor Day holiday, marking the end of summer, drew to a close, and Pentagon Press Secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, held a briefing.

In Tuesday’s briefing , Ryder consistently affirmed that the U.S. intended to continue its military efforts to counter ISIS in Iraq and Syria–which are, In fact, really one theater.

Background to Current U.S. Position

In 2003, Barack Obama, who later became U.S. president, opposed the war that overthrew Saddam Hussein. He thought it was a mistake, and as president, he withdrew U.S. forces from Iraq at the first opportunity. 

Thus, by 2011, U.S. forces were out of Iraq. Yet a mere three years later, ISIS established itself in Syria in the midst of that country’s civil war, and Obama was obliged to send U.S. troops back to Iraq.

As the highly-regarded German news magazine, Der Spiegel, explained In a lengthy article based on captured documents and entitled, “Secret Files Reveal the Structure of Islamic State,” ISIS was founded by elements of the intelligence service of Saddam’s deposed regime.

Once established in Syria, the terrorist group burst across the border, and gained control of one-third of Iraq. Joe Biden was Obama’s vice-president. Although those events happened a decade ago, President Biden and his senior aides doubtless remember them well and do not want to repeat Obama’s mistake.

Thus, one can reasonably expect there will be no premature withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq during Biden’s presidency–at least as long as Washington is in a position to prevent it. 

Moreover, the fight against ISIS in Syria depends on supply routes that run from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Thus, a U.S. withdrawal from the Kurdistan Region would also cripple the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Ryder: U.S. Will Continue to Counter ISIS

“ISIS is not the threat that it was ten years ago, but certainly something that needs to be taken very, very seriously,” Ryder said in response to one reporter’s question. 

Later in the briefing, another journalist cited a statement from the office of the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shi’a al-Sudani, after he met with the new U.S. commander of the anti-ISIS Coalition, Maj. Gen. Kevin Leahy. According to that statement, Sudani had told Leahy that ISIS was no longer a threat to Iraq.

Ryder responded by citing his previous statement. “I have provided my perspective on ISIS,” he said. “I think it’s something that we need to continue to keep an eye on and make sure that it does not resurge to the levels that it did back in 2014.”

Most probably, Ryder remembers those days better than the young Kurdish journalist who asked that question. Ryder headed public affairs operations for the anti-ISIS Coalition during its first two years—from 2014, when it was established, to 2016.

The Pentagon position, as expressed by Ryder, is doubtless welcomed by the Kurdish leadership. In July, the long-time Kurdish leader, Masoud Barzani, who now heads the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), visited Baghdad for the first time in six years.

Part of Barzani’s purpose was to convey to the Biden administration the importance of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. He did that in a meeting with the U.S. ambassador, in which he explained that the matter was a national issue which transcended party lines and which was vital to ensuring Iraq's stability and promoting its national interests.

Read More: US Envoy Lauds Meeting with Masoud Barzani

The European Union is also concerned about the terrorist threat emanating from the region. Cooperation on fighting terrorism was a key topic on Tuesday, as the EU’s ambassador to Iraq met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani.

Read More: PM Barzani, EU Ambassador discuss strengthening anti-terrorism cooperation

ISIS Making a Comeback?

Indeed, as was noted in Tuesday’s Pentagon briefing, according to CENTCOM’s own figures, ISIS is making something of a comeback. 

In July, CENTCOM released statistics on ISIS attacks in Iraq and Syria during the first six months of the year. CENTCOM’s report concluded that such attacks were on pace to double compared to 2023. 

Read More: Islamic State attacks on track to double in Iraq and Syria compared to last year, US military says

Thus, ISIS is not defeated. Indeed, Iraqi and U.S. forces just conducted a major operation against ISIS in the western desert in Anbar province.

Read More: Iraq-US joint raid kills 15 IS fighters

But as The New York Times reported, the Iraqi prime minister is in a difficult political position. Sudani is “under pressure from Iran” and “Iran’s allies inside Iraq to sharply reduce the U.S. military presence in the country,” it said.

Indeed, that pressure has been significantly enhanced by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which is now entering its eleventh month.

That is far longer than Israeli officials expected, when the fighting began. And ran and its proxies—whether in Iraq, Lebanon, or Yemen—have used the protracted conflict to mobilize anti-Western sentiment and justify their attacks on Western interests over the past eleven months.