CENTCOM: The U.S. is Committed to the Permanent Defeat of ISIS

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) visited U.S. military commanders and personnel at several bases in Syria on Tuesday. According to a report from the official CENTCOM account on X on Tuesday, December 20, General Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, met with 'U.S. military commanders and personnel' as well as 'U.S. partners in the operations to defeat ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces.' During this visit, he received an assessment of the protective measures for the forces, the evolving situation in Syria, and ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS from exploiting the current situation. CENTCOM stated that it is 'committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS.' The report also mentioned that 'General Kurilla, after visiting Syria, met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army, and Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhandis, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations in Iraq.' The focus of the discussions, as reported by CENTCOM, was 'on strengthening bilateral cooperation and regional security, the rapidly changing situation in Syria, operations to defeat ISIS in Iraq, and continuing cooperation between the coalition and Iraqi forces.' Additionally, the report stated that 'General Kurilla met with General Kevin Leahy, commander of the international coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, and his personnel to assess the mission of 'destroying ISIS' in Iraq and Syria.' Michael Kurilla emphasized, 'We are committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS and to the security of our partners in the neighborhood of Syria, including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel.' Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government and the takeover by rebels, John Kirby, the National Security Council's Strategic Communications Coordinator at the White House, commented on the possibility of the group 'Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham' being removed from the U.S. terrorist list, stating that Washington is monitoring the actions of the group's leaders and how they fulfill their promises. Previously, CENTCOM had announced that its forces conducted dozens of precise airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and forces in central Syria on Sunday, December 18. According to this statement, released on the day of the announcement of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, these attacks targeted ISIS leaders, forces, and camps as part of an ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS to prevent the execution of 'external operations by this terrorist group' and to ensure that ISIS does not 'exploit' the current situation in Syria and does not rebuild in central Syria. President Joe Biden, regarding the U.S. presence in Syria, stated that this presence is aimed at countering the resurgence of ISIS.