ISIS is “re-surging” in
Syria less than five months after President Donald Trump declared the terror
group’s caliphate there had been 100% defeated, according to a new Pentagon
inspector general’s report on the fight against ISIS.
“Despite losing its territorial ‘caliphate,’ ISIS solidified its
insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was re-surging in Syria,” the report, which
was published on Tuesday, warned.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted his
administration’s role in driving the terror group from areas under its
territorial control, telling
a Cabinet meeting last month, “We did a great job with the caliphate. We have
100% of the caliphate, and we’re rapidly pulling out of Syria.” But the new
report said the partial withdrawal of some US troops from Syria has already
impacted the fight against the remnants of ISIS, making it harder to advise
local allies on the ground and depriving the US of the ability to monitor areas
that are described as potential recruiting zones that would allow the group to
replenish its ranks.
The report, from the lead inspector general for Operation
Inherent Resolve, the official name for the US-led operation fighting ISIS,
covers the period April 1 to June 30, 2019.
“The reduction of US forces has decreased the support available
for Syrian partner forces at a time when their forces need more training and
equipping to respond to the ISIS resurgence,” Glenn Fine, the principal deputy
inspector general, wrote in a message accompanying the report.
The report warns that because of the reduction in personnel, the
US and its local allies were unable to closely monitor the al-Hol internally
displaced persons camp, a situation that has allowed “ISIS ideology to spread
‘uncontested’ in the camp,” potentially allowing ISIS to replenish its ranks
among the tens of thousands of inhabitants.