posted by Christopher W. Holton
The news has been dominated recently by the withdrawal of U.S. special operations advisers from northern Syria ahead of the Turkish invasion of the region.
Those advisers were primarily charged with training and assisting indigenous forces in battling Islamic State jihadists, who, despite reports to the contrary, are still very much active in the area.
The Department of Defense released a statement emphasizing that the withdrawal does not mean that U.S. forces have abandoned the fight against the Islamic State:
U.S. Will Continue Defeat-ISIS Campaign, Official Says
The United States will continue its campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria from outside Syria, said a senior defense official…
“The Defeat-ISIS campaign will continue,” the official said. “The enduring defeat of ISIS remains one of our top security priorities. We have significant assets and personnel as well as coalition capabilities throughout the region that will continue to prosecute that campaign.”
Here is the most important part of the DOD statement. I don’t agree with the terminology, but the substance is important:
It is important to remember that ISIS is not just a Middle East/Central Asia phenomenon. The terror group is attempting to foment extremism in many other areas including Somalia, Niger, Southeast Asia, the Philippines and elsewhere.
This statement is important because it acknowledges the fact (without coming right out and saying so) that we are in a global jihadist insurgency. The Islamic State was not defeated when its caliphate was rolled up in Syria and Iraq. Its affiliates operate in West Africa, East Africa, Southeast Asia (most likely referring to Thailand), the Philippines (where just a few years ago ISIS took over an entire medium-sized city for months) and elsewhere.
What is meant by “elsewhere?”
We can’t be sure what DOD means by this, but there is no doubt that the Islamic State has sympathizers and operatives throughout Europe and here in the USA. Periodically we read of plots, attacks and arrests. Mostly our media has relegated these reports to the “back pages” of the news, in my opinion because they seek to downplay the threat because it doesn’t resonate for Leftist politicians most of the media covertly support.
Terror Trends Bulletin 