US DEFENSE DEPT: Dunford: Coalitions Support Local Partners in Driving Down Violence

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2017 — From West Africa to Southeast Asia, military coalitions support partners on the ground in driving down the levels of violence arising from the transnational threat so local forces can deal with their own security challenges, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.
Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford spoke before an audience at the National Press Club, discussing the broad design of the campaign being conducted today against violent extremism in the context of all the challenges that face the United States, including North Korea, China, Iran and Russia.
Dunford took questions from the audience that began with defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Defeating ISIS
"The United States is supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces in seizing the key Syrian city of Raqqa, Dunford said, noting that the SDF is about 50,000 strong, of which about 20,000 to 25,000 are Arab and the rest are Kurdish. As the U.S.-led coalition supports local efforts to seize Raqqa, another effort led by the U.S. State Department is establishing a governance body, the general said.
"That governance will leverage Arab leaders who are from Raqqa and will also work on establishing a security force made up of local personnel so stabilization efforts that will follow the seizure of Raqqa," Dunford added.
ISIS is one manifestation of the transregional violent extremism that is devastating cities across Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries, he said. What connects extremist groups from West Africa to Southeast Asia is the flow of foreign fighters, the flow of resources and the narrative or message they disseminate, Dunford said, noting that he calls these things "connective tissue between the groups."
He added, "Strategically, the idea is to be able to cut the connective tissue … by establishing a broad coalition with a good exchange of information and intelligence so we can get after the flow of money, the flow of foreign fighters and deal with the narrative."---read rest of article from DOD webpage
https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1219258/dunford-coalitions-support-local-partners-in-driving-down-violence/

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