Dear Readers,
Following the article from Thierry Meyssan/Réseau Voltaire please see below the video + transcript mentioned on that article, on paragraph #6: In order to avoid misunderstanding, his Secretary for Defense, James Mattis, clearly explained his military strategy – to encircle the jihadist groups, and then to exterminate them without allowing a single one to escape.
Department of Defense Press Briefing by Secretary
Mattis, General Dunford and Special Envoy McGurk on the Campaign to Defeat ISIS
in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis; Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman General Joseph F. Dunford; Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy
for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
May 19, 2017
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JIM MATTIS: Well, good
afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I returned last week from a meeting in Copenhagen with ministers of defense from 14 nations to coordinate our political way ahead in the Defeat ISIS campaign. Chairman Dunford returned yesterday from a chief of defense meeting in Brussels, with 28 NATO nations plus his counterparts from a dozen additional nations, and they discussed the military aspects of that campaign. Mr. McGurk, President Trump's special envoy and vital State Department leader to the coalition to counter ISIS returned a few hours ago from his trip to Syria, Iraq and Jordan.
This is our first opportunity to get together, and we took advantage of that for this conference. So today's a good time to update you, describing basically where we're at, what has changed and the way ahead.
President Trump directed the Department of Defense to lead all departments in a comprehensive review of the campaign. We submitted that report and after his review, he then ordered an accelerated operation against ISIS.
So what does that mean?
Two significant changes resulted from President Trump's review of our findings.
First, he delegated authority to the right level to aggressively and in a timely manner move against enemy vulnerabilities.
Secondly, he directed a tactical shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS. The intent is to prevent the return home of escaped foreign fighters.
I want to emphasize here there has been no change to our rules of engagement and there has been no change to our continued extraordinary efforts to avoid innocent civilian casualties, despite needing to go into populated areas to break ISIS hold on their self-described caliphate, despite ISIS purposely endangering innocent lives by refusing to allow civilians to evacuate. And we continue all possible efforts to protect the innocent.
You're all aware of the human costs ISIS has exacted, killed, wounded, refugees, merciless control over those regions they hold, the cost to Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon as Syrians and Iraqis have been displaced.
In response to ISIS malicious and unforgivable treatment toward innocents, the world has responded. I emphasize that this is a coalition effort. Since this began in 2014, the coalition has strengthened and expanded. The international team is fully committed at the political and military levels to the destruction of ISIS. A coalition of 68 members -- 65 nations with more joining as we speak, plus Interpol, the European Union and Arab League -- united in opposition, sharing intelligence, providing troops and funds for combat and, of no less importance, for the post-combat recovery.
I returned last week from a meeting in Copenhagen with ministers of defense from 14 nations to coordinate our political way ahead in the Defeat ISIS campaign. Chairman Dunford returned yesterday from a chief of defense meeting in Brussels, with 28 NATO nations plus his counterparts from a dozen additional nations, and they discussed the military aspects of that campaign. Mr. McGurk, President Trump's special envoy and vital State Department leader to the coalition to counter ISIS returned a few hours ago from his trip to Syria, Iraq and Jordan.
This is our first opportunity to get together, and we took advantage of that for this conference. So today's a good time to update you, describing basically where we're at, what has changed and the way ahead.
President Trump directed the Department of Defense to lead all departments in a comprehensive review of the campaign. We submitted that report and after his review, he then ordered an accelerated operation against ISIS.
So what does that mean?
Two significant changes resulted from President Trump's review of our findings.
First, he delegated authority to the right level to aggressively and in a timely manner move against enemy vulnerabilities.
Secondly, he directed a tactical shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS. The intent is to prevent the return home of escaped foreign fighters.
I want to emphasize here there has been no change to our rules of engagement and there has been no change to our continued extraordinary efforts to avoid innocent civilian casualties, despite needing to go into populated areas to break ISIS hold on their self-described caliphate, despite ISIS purposely endangering innocent lives by refusing to allow civilians to evacuate. And we continue all possible efforts to protect the innocent.
You're all aware of the human costs ISIS has exacted, killed, wounded, refugees, merciless control over those regions they hold, the cost to Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon as Syrians and Iraqis have been displaced.
In response to ISIS malicious and unforgivable treatment toward innocents, the world has responded. I emphasize that this is a coalition effort. Since this began in 2014, the coalition has strengthened and expanded. The international team is fully committed at the political and military levels to the destruction of ISIS. A coalition of 68 members -- 65 nations with more joining as we speak, plus Interpol, the European Union and Arab League -- united in opposition, sharing intelligence, providing troops and funds for combat and, of no less importance, for the post-combat recovery.
