ISIS is far from over, says US commander general Joseph Votel

[TomSea]

ISIS is far from over, says US commander general Joseph Votel
Joyce Karam

Head of Centcom confirms US will retain a residual force in Syria


US Africa Command Commander Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, center, flanked by U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Joseph Votel, left, and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Kathryn Wheelbarger. AP

 Even as US President Donald Trump prepares to declare territorial victory over ISIS in Syria and Iraq, his military commander offered on Thursday a grim outlook on the status of the group.

The fight, said Commander General Joseph Votel, is far from over. “what we are seeing now is not the surrender of ISIS as an organisation but a calculated decision… They are waiting for the right time for a resurgence.”

Gen Votel, who is leaving his position as the head of the Central Command (Centcom) in the coming weeks, told a Senate committee that the reduction of the physical caliphate is "a monumental military accomplishment but the fight against ISIS and violent extremism is far from over.”

Read more at: https://www.thenational.ae/world/the-americas/isis-is-far-from-over-says-us-commander-general-joseph-votel-1.834424