‘A Serious Threat To Our Nation’

‘US Officials Warn Of Stark Threat Posed By ISIS’

“Intelligence officials on Tuesday offered stark warnings of the threats posed by the terrorist organization ISIS … While Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel said the U.S. had made significant gains against ISIS, the report they oversaw argues that any lifting of pressure on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria could allow it to regroup…. Coats and Haspel painted the picture of an adversary that has been weakened, but notably did not describe ISIS as having been completely defeated. Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee that ISIS ‘still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria’ and ‘thousands of dispersed supporters around the world, despite significant leadership and territorial losses.’ Haspel said that the U.S. is ‘going to work very hard to finish that mission,’ referring to the fight against ISIS. Coats said the U.S. ‘should not underestimate the ability of terrorist groups particularly ISIS and affiliated groups,’ as well as al-Qaeda tied groups. ‘ISIS will continue to be a threat to the United States, and we’re going to have to continue to keep our eyes on that…as the realization that this terrorism threat is going to continue for some time,’ Coats said.” (‘US Officials Warn Of Stark Threat Posed By ISIS,’ The Hill, 1/29/2019)

• US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE THREAT ASSESSMENT: “ISIS still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria, and it maintains eight branches, more than a dozen networks, and thousands of dispersed supporters around the world, despite significant leadership and territorial losses. The group will exploit any reduction in [counterterrorism] pressure to strengthen its clandestine presence and accelerate rebuilding key capabilities … ISIS very likely will continue to pursue external attacks from Iraq and Syria against regional and Western adversaries, including the United States.” (“Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,” Statement for the Record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 1/29/2019)

• US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE THREAT ASSESSMENT: “Al-Qa‘ida elements in Syria, meanwhile, continue to undermine efforts to resolve that conflict, while the network’s affiliate in South Asia provides support to the Taliban.” (“Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,” Statement for the Record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 1/29/2019)

COL. JONATHAN BYROM, Deputy Director of Joint Operations Command-Iraq: “[T]here is still work to be done and the international community has a role in restoring stability and prosperity to the people of Iraq that suffered under the ISIS rule of terror…. The threat of ISIS attacks remains, and the Iraqi Security Forces continue to aggressively pursue these remnants where they are hiding.” (Joint Operations Command-Iraq Briefing, 12/11/2018)

• COL. BYROM: “Even with the continued Iraqi Security Forces operations throughout Iraq, the fight is not over against ISIS. As the Syrian Defense Forces complete the destruction of the physical caliphate in Syria, the Iraqi Security Forces continue clearance operations focused on ISIS safe havens in various locations throughout Iraq. Their continued operations will prevent any attempt at ISIS insurgency from gaining momentum, and are pivotal to maintaining stability in Iraq as the new Iraqi government completes its formation.” (Joint Operations Command-Iraq Briefing, 12/11/2018)

‘A Hasty American Withdrawal [From Afghanistan] Would Erode The Authority And Legitimacy Of The Afghan Government, Raising The Risk That The Taliban Could Recapture Control Of The Country’

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO Secretary General: “As we have said many, many, many times, we are in Afghanistan to create the conditions for a peaceful, negotiated solution…. [W]e will not leave before we have a situation which enables to leave or at reduce the number of troops without jeopardizing the main goal of our presence, and that is to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for international terrorists once again.” (Remarks at the Pentagon, Arlington, VA, 1/28/2019)

THE NEW YORK TIMES: “President Trump’s headway in Afghan peace negotiations with the Taliban raises the same question that has bedeviled other presidents who extracted American troops from foreign wars: Will the departing Americans end up handing over the country to the same ruthless militants that the United States went to war to dislodge? A hasty American withdrawal, experts said, would erode the authority and legitimacy of the Afghan government, raising the risk that the Taliban could recapture control of the country. Short of that, it could consign Afghanistan to a protracted, bloody civil war, with Taliban fighters besieging the capital, Kabul, as they did in the 1990s.” (“Taliban Talks Raise Question of What U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Mean,” The New York Times, 1/28/2019)

• “During internal discussions, [Former Secretary of Defense] Jim Mattis … pointed to the estimate that some 20 terrorist groups, many of them offshoots of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, would quickly use the freedom afforded by an American troop pullout to try to launch operations against Western targets.” (“Taliban Talks Raise Question of What U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Mean,” The New York Times, 1/28/2019)

• “James Dobbins, a former top Obama administration official for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said it was imperative that the United States remain in Afghanistan while the Taliban and Afghan government enter into talks and reach any agreement, and leave only when a deal is implemented. ‘Don’t withdraw until there is an enduring agreement that provides for peace,’ Mr. Dobbins said. ‘If we pull out too soon, it means the country descends into civil war, and extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State gain new scope for far-flung attacks.’” (“Taliban Talks Raise Question of What U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Mean,” The New York Times, 1/28/2019)