US envoy details anti-ISIS coalition’s future in Iraq, Syria

WASHINGTON, DC - The US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) held a ministerial-level meeting Monday to review developments, priorities, and discuss how the members of the coalition cooperate together to fight the group’s continued threat. 
 
Ian J. McCary, US deputy special envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS, told Rudaw about the evolving role of the coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.
 
On Friday, the United States and Iraq announced they had reached an agreement to end the military mission of the global coalition against ISIS in Iraq within a year.
 
"We are not withdrawing from this region. We are not taking our focus off of this region,’’ McCary said. 
 
The joint statement added that the anti-ISIS mission in Syria will continue for another year after the one in Iraq ends.
 
"What we're doing in Iraq, we are going to continue very strong counterterrorism cooperation with the Government of Iraq. What's changing is we are changing the framework in which we are cooperating with Iraq gradually and over time, reflecting the progress that we've made in reflecting the growing capabilities of the Iraqi security forces,” McCary said.
 
In northeast Syria (Rojava), the coalition has supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
 
"We're also going to maintain the capability to apply as much pressure as we need to on Daesh elements of Daesh that exist inside northeast Syria, and make sure that they cannot resurge, either there or in Iraq,’’ McCary added, using another term for ISIS.
 
In the Kurdistan Region, the coalition has enjoyed strong relations with Peshmerga forces. 
 
"We have, and we will continue to have, absolutely excellent cooperation with the Kurdish Peshmerga. As you know, our cooperation and ties with them goes back for decades, and we're going to continue to cooperate with them, in coordination with the Iraqi government,’’ McCary said.
 
‘’We believe that Kurdish Peshmerga has a very important role to play in securing the future of Iraq,” he added.
 
Below is the full transcript of McCary’s interview. 
 
Rudaw: Thanks, Special Envoy for being on Rudaw.
 
Special Envoy McCary: Thank you for having me.
 
Could you please tell us, what did you discuss in the past few hours at the ministerial meeting?
 
Special Envoy Ian McCary: Of course, well, this is a meeting that we have every year in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. We have 87 members in our coalition, and we meet every year at the ministerial level to review our developments, review our priorities, and discuss how we cooperate together to fight the threat from Daesh that continues. This is a particularly important meeting because we're marking 10 years since the establishment of the global coalition in 2014 and as you know, at that time, this terrorist group, that time being, Daesh, had just seized Mosul and ended up occupying almost a third of the countries of Iraq and Syria, and in the past 10 years, there has been an enormous amount of success in combating Daesh. We have liberated all of the territories that were under their control in Iraq and Syria. We've liberated millions of people who were suffering under Daesh rule, we have broken the infrastructure of this organization, and we have held a number of these criminals accountable for their crimes. So, there's been a lot of success in the past year, but there's also still a lot of work in front of us.
 
So, as you are speaking about that transition into two phases, so how confident are you about ISIS not resurging and not regrouping in both Iraq and Syria?
 
Yeah, well, we are still very focused on the threat that Daesh poses in this area, in Iraq and Syria, we have very high confidence in the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, which have developed incredibly over the past 10 years, through our cooperation. We remain very concerned about the potential for a resurgence of Daesh, although it's been extremely badly damaged, that it could resurge in Syria if we are not careful and we do not remain focused. So, the ministers who met today were absolutely united in their resolve to remain focused on the threat from Daesh in Syria and to continue to work very closely with our partners in Iraq. What we're doing in Iraq, we are going to continue very strong counterterrorism cooperation with the Government of Iraq. What's changing is we are changing the framework in which we are cooperating with Iraq gradually and over time, reflecting the progress that we've made in reflecting the growing capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, but we're also going to maintain the capability to apply as much pressure as we need to on Daesh, elements of Daesh that exist inside northeast Syria, and make sure that they cannot resurge, either there or in Iraq.
 
According to some reports, media reports in the region, there are about 2,500 ISIS members that are activating, or they are operating in the region. And also, on the other hand, we do have 9,000 ISIS militants in the prisons in northern Syria, and we have about 43,000 ISIS family members. So, when we are talking about this transition, or someone in the region speaking about the ending of the mission, don't you think that it is too soon to step in into this phase, or for this transition because still there is a big threat of ISIS in the region, still there are ISIS members in the region, held in up in the prisons?
 
Well, thank you for asking me this. Because I really want to emphasize, we are not withdrawing from this region. We are not taking our focus off of this region. The question of all of the ISIS fighters who are still detained in northeast Syria is a major priority for us, and we're going to continue to work internationally and with all of our partners to ensure that these fighters are held in secure and humane conditions - and our most important effort there is to get as many of these fighters out of their detention in northeast Syria and sent back to where they came from; if they came from parts of Europe or central Asia or Africa or other Middle East countries, we want them sent home, and we are in the process of doing that now. And also with the displaced persons who are in the al-Hol displaced persons camp, there is a steady flow of Iraqis who have been stuck there for many years, returning home to their communities of origin, and also from many other countries around the world. There are constantly small movements of central Asians and from other countries who are leaving al-Hol, going back home, and rebuilding new lives. It's very tragic how many of the people in al-Hol are children who've never known another home. They're growing up in the worst possible circumstances, and the best thing we can do for them is get them back home and give them a fresh start in life.
 
Could you speak about the nature of your relations with the Kurdish Peshmerga in this transition period, because we know that you're in discussion with the Iraqi government about the future security relations? So, what will be the nature of your relations with the Kurdish Peshmerga?
 
We have, and we will continue to have, absolutely excellent cooperation with the Kurdish Peshmerga. As you know, our cooperation and ties with them goes back for decades, and we're going to continue to cooperate with them, in coordination with the Iraqi government, because we believe that Kurdish Peshmerga has a very important role to play in securing the future of Iraq.
 
And if I may ask the last question… In Iraq, you do have connections with the Iraqi government, but in Syria, you do not have any connections with the Syrian government. So, after September 2026, how do you reorganize your presence in Syria?
 
Well, we are going to continue to work with our partners in the region, and we're going to continue to work internationally. We remain convinced that the only way forward in Syria is to reach a political solution within the outlines defined in the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and all of our diplomatic efforts are aimed in that direction. And in the meantime, we're going to continue to conduct whatever humanitarian and military operations we need to present, to prevent a Daesh resurgence there.
 
Thank you so much Special Envoy.
 
Thank you, pleasure to talk to you.