WASHINGTON —
Threats to collective security have not waned, whether from terrorism or Russia's aggression and hybrid threats, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said at NATO headquarters in Brussels today.
In the global fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the U.S.-led coalition “will continue to carry out operations necessary to crush the physical caliphate and prevent a resurgence of ISIS,” the secretary said at a news conference following a NATO defense ministers meeting.
“We will be unrelenting in our effort, working with like-minded nations. We will target ISIS around the world, for this remains a global fight,” he said.
And to support those efforts, NATO is transitioning its existing activity in Iraq into a sustainable training mission, the secretary said.
“In concert with the new Iraqi government, we will capitalize on Iraq's success and reinforce their long-term counterterrorism efforts,” Mattis said. “We cannot allow ISIS or any other terrorist group to terrorize the people of this region, again driving thousands of refugees from their homes and into Europe and elsewhere.”
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