US-led anti-Daesh campaign hitting new phase

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

The anti-Daesh coalition led by the U.S. will soon embark on a new phase in its efforts to defeat the terror group in Syria and Iraq, America's top diplomat said Wednesday.

Addressing the 68-member coalition's gathering of foreign ministers, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said priority will now shift to stabilization efforts.

"A successful stabilization phase will set the stage for a successful normalization phase," Tillerson said at the State Department.

Coalition forces will nevertheless remain "where this fraudulent caliphate has existed in order to set the conditions for a full recovery from the tyranny of" Daesh, Tillerson said.

The terror group, also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), calls itself a caliphate, a claim that has been met with international rejection.

The Secretary of State stressed that as forces make the final push to eliminate Daesh, coalition members are expected to contribute more.

"The United States will do its part, but the circumstances on the ground require more from all of you," he said. "I ask each country to examine how it can best support these vital stabilization efforts, especially in regards to military and financial resources."

The U.S. currently provides 75 percent of the military resources in support of the local partners, with 25 percent coming from the rest of the coalition. That breakdown is reversed in terms of humanitarian and stabilization aid, according to Tillerson.

In the recently liberated parts of east Mosul, coalition forces have assisted their Iraqi counterparts in clearing rubble and landmines, and restoring running water and power there.

Nearly 30,000 children have gone back to school in the area, Tillerson said.

Local partners will still bear the brunt of the recovery effort, he maintained, saying that the coalition is "not in the business of nation building, or reconstruction".

Tillerson said the coalition’s "precious and limited resources" should be devoted to prevent any Daesh resurgence.

But he asserted that investments should continue in Iraq and Syria to "help innocent people rebuild and stabilize their communities".

Speaking after Tillerson, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said his government is doing its best to facilitate the return of displaced people to their homes, noting that local economies have begun to normalize.

So far more than 70 percent of residents in Fallujah and Ramadi have returned to their homes while over 90 percent of Tikrit residents have done so, Abadi said.

Earlier this week Abadi had evoked a pledge by Donald Trump’s administration for more support.

Tillerson hailed Turkey's efforts to combat Daesh, saying its Operation Euphrates Shield has successfully pushed Daesh off of Syria's northern border.

As Daesh faces its physical destruction, Tillerson warned that its online presence too must be checked.

"A digital caliphate must not flourish in the place of a physical one," he said noting that so far 75 percent of Daesh's online content has been eliminated.

"As we have seen from attacks in Nice, Berlin, Orlando and San Bernardino, the Internet is ISIS' best weapon for turning a recruit into a self-radicalized attacker."

The coalition currently houses three hubs for disseminating anti-Daesh messaging in the U.K., United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.

Tillerson said similar efforts should be replicated elsewhere.