| TILLERSON RAISES ALARM AT MEETING OF ANTI-ISIS COALITION: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought on Tuesday to refocus the U.S.-led coalition charged with fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group on its mission amid a series of confrontations in the region.
“The end of major combat operations does not mean we have achieved the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Tillerson said at a meeting of coalition members in Kuwait.
“ISIS remains a serious threat to the stability of the region, our homelands and other parts of the globe,” he added. “Without continued attention and support from coalition members, we risk the return of extremist groups like ISIS in liberated areas of Iraq and Syria and their spread to new locations.”
He also announced that the U.S. would provide an additional $200 million for stabilization and recovery efforts in parts of Syria liberated from ISIS control.
Read the rest here.
MATTIS: NO AGREEMENT ON WHAT TO DO WITH CAPTURED ISIS FIGHTERS: Members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) did not agree Tuesday on what to do with captured foreign fighters, Defense Secretary James Mattis said.
Speaking to reporters after a closed-door coalition meeting in Rome, Mattis said the issue was “not resolved in a final way,” but that individual countries must take responsibility for ISIS fighters that hail from their nation.
“The important thing is that the countries of origin keep responsibility for them,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him from Rome to Brussels. “How they carry out that responsibility, there’s a dozen different diplomatic, legal or whatever ways, I suppose. But the bottom line is, we don’t want them going back on the street.”
“Doing nothing is not an option,” he added later.
The debate over what to do with foreign ISIS fighters captured on the battlefield has heated up after the U.S.-back Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured two men that were part of an ISIS cell known as “The Beatles” because of their English accents.
The Hill’s Rebecca Kheel has more here.
$69M TO REPLACE TOP-SECRET DETAINEE SECTION AT GITMO: The Pentagon is requesting $69 million to replace the top-secret portion of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility that houses 15 “high-value” detainees, including the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The request, first reported Tuesday by the Miami Herald, was part of the Pentagon’s overall $686 billion budget request for fiscal 2019, which was released Monday.
“Existing facilities have far exceeded their service life expectancy and are deteriorating rapidly,” Army budget documents read. “If this project is not provided, detainees will continue to be housed in facilities that will degrade to the point of risking failure to meet operational and life, health and safety standards.”
The budget request comes weeks after President Trump reaffirmed his desire to keep Guantanamo open and potentially send new detainees there by signing an executive order that rescinds former President Obama’s order to close the facility.
Trump’s order also requires Defense Secretary James Mattis to provide recommendations on how to handle any potential newly captured individuals.
Read more about the request here. |
