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US, Europeans clash on jihadists’ fate in Islamic State talks
WASHINGTON, Nov 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The United States and its European
allies clashed Thursday over what to do with thousands of jihadists jailed in
Syria, with Washington calling a French proposal to try fighters in Iraq
“irresponsible.”
Senior officials from more than 30 countries pledged greater coordination
in the campaign against the Islamic State group in a meeting in Washington
proposed by France, which has been particularly concerned by President Donald
Trump’s decision last month to pull US troops from Syria.
Trump’s move allowed an incursion by Turkey aimed at destroying Kurdish
guerrillas, who had led the fight against the Islamic State group and run
jails for captured extremists in their effectively autonomous area in
northern Syria.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed the Europeans on foreign fighters,
telling them, “we’ll hold them to account.”
“Coalition members must take back the thousands of foreign terrorist
fighters in custody and impose accountability for the atrocities they have
perpetrated,” Pompeo said.
But Nathan Sales, the State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator,
acknowledged that “there is, candidly, a difference of opinion about the best
way to resolve this problem.”
“The United States thinks that it’s inappropriate to ask Iraq in particular
to shoulder the additional burden of foreign fighters, particularly from
Europe,” Sales told reporters after the one-day meeting.
“It would be irresponsible for any country to expect Iraq to solve that
problem for them,” he said.
“We think there should be a sense of urgency to repatriate now while we
still can,” he said.
– No desire for jihadists –
Sales’s comments clearly were directed at France, which has opened talks
with Iraq about trying foreign nationals.
European nations such as France and Britain have no desire to see the
return of battle-hardened supporters of the ultra-violent group, which has
claimed responsibility for a slew of grisly attacks against civilians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said his government was seeking
the “certain and lasting detention” of fighters and noted that the vast
majority of prisoners were Iraqis and Syrians.
“For our part, we will continue to say that they should be tried as close
as possible to the crimes they committed,” he told reporters.
“Let’s never forget that these women and men who joined Daesh made a fully
conscious choice to fight for a terrorist organization,” he said, using the
group’s Arabic initials.
European governments have revoked the citizenship of a number of citizens
over alleged Islamic State links.
Such a step is virtually impossible in the United States, although a court
Thursday backed the State Department’s finding that one US-born recruit, Hoda
Muthana, did not have US citizenship as her father was a diplomat from Yemen.
– US ‘will continue to lead’ –
Trump argues that the United States accomplished its military mission in
war-ravaged Syria by crushing the Islamic State group, although he has since
said that US troops will stay on to secure oil fields.
Pompeo dwelled little on Trump’s decision but said US forces remained
positioned to “make sure ISIS will never get a second wind,” using a common
acronym for the group.
“The United States will continue to lead the coalition and the world on
this essential security effort,” Pompeo said.
He scoffed at criticism of Trump’s move, pointing to the October 26 raid by
US forces that killed the group’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as well as an
operation that killed his would-be successor.
“Ask them if there’s a deficit of American leadership in fighting ISIS,”
Pompeo said.
The talks came a day after Trump welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan to the White House, a rapid turnaround in symbolism just weeks after
Trump threatened to destroy the NATO ally’s economy over its incursion.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking alongside Pompeo,
acknowledged that there were “differences” among alliance members on Syria,
where the situation he said “remains fragile and difficult.”
But Le Drian said France felt reassured by a joint statement’s
reaffirmation of a coalition, saying that all members agreed “to avoid
unilateral steps without consulting with others.”
The ministers also said they would hold a meeting next year focused on the
Islamic State group in West Africa, where the extremists have staged
increasingly destructive attacks.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0859 hrs