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[webfact]

Tillerson pledges safe areas for refugees, more pressure on Islamic State

By Lesley Wroughton and Yara Bayoumy

REUTERS

 

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks at the morning ministerial plenary for the Global Coalition working to Defeat ISIS at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday the United States would set up "interim zones of stability" to help refugees return home in the next phase of the fight against Islamic State and al Qaeda in Syria and Iraq.

 

The top U.S. diplomat did not make clear where these zones were to be set up. He was addressing a meeting of 68 countries and organizations gathered in Washington to discuss accelerating the battle against Islamic State.

 

"The United States will increase our pressure on ISIS and al Qaeda and will work to establish interim zones of stability, through ceasefires, to allow refugees to return home," Tillerson told the gathering at the State Department, where the former oil executive was hosting his first major diplomatic event.

 

Although it was unclear how the zones would work, creating any safe havens could ratchet up U.S. military involvement in Syria and mark a major departure from President Barack Obama's more cautious approach.

 

Asked about Tillerson's remarks, coalition spokesman Colonel Joseph Scrocca said the U.S. military had not yet received direction to establish any kind of "zones".

 

Increased U.S. or allied air power would be required if President Donald Trump chooses to enforce 'no fly' restrictions, and ground forces might also be needed to protect civilians in those areas.

 

A final statement at the end of the meeting did not mention the possibility of safe zones.

 

Islamic State has been losing ground in both Iraq and Syria, with three separate forces, backed by the United States, Turkey and Russia, advancing on the group's Syrian stronghold city of Raqqa.

 

U.S. defence officials said on Wednesday the U.S.-led coalition has airlifted Syrian rebel forces in an operation near the Syrian town of Tabqa in Raqqa province.

 

"I recognise there are many pressing challenges in the Middle East, but defeating ISIS is the United States’ number one goal in the region," Tillerson said.

 

"As a coalition we are not in the business of nation building or reconstruction," he said, adding that resources should be focussed on preventing the resurgence of ISIS and equipping war-torn communities to rebuild.

 

ISLAMIC STATE OUTNUMBERED

 

Wednesday's event was the first meeting of the coalition since the election of Trump, who has pledged to make the fight against Islamic State a priority.

 

Tillerson called on coalition partners to make good on financial pledges to secure and rebuild areas where Islamic State has been pushed out. The coalition has pledged more than $2 billion in assistance for Iraq and Syria in 2017.

 

Iraqi government forces, backed by the U.S.-led international coalition, retook several Iraqi cities from Islamic State last year and have liberated eastern Mosul.

 

While the jihadist group is overwhelmingly outnumbered by Iraqi forces, it has been using suicide car bombs and snipers to defend its remaining strongholds.

 

Speaking to the same meeting, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called for unity in the region to combat Islamic State and outlined Iraq's progress in the fight.

 

He said Iraq was now at the stage of "destroying" Islamic State, not just "containing" it. Recounting a Tuesday conversation with the Iraqi leader, Senator Lindsey Graham said Abadi believed reconstruction of Anbar province as well as Mosul in Nineveh province would cost about $50 billion.

 

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Alistair Bell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-23

[elgordo38]

Down Rex down heel best to check with your master on this one. 

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Tillerson called on coalition partners to make good on financial pledges to secure and rebuild areas where Islamic State has been pushed out. The coalition has pledged more than $2 billion in assistance for Iraq and Syria in 2017.

The USA at its best blow em up and them put em back together again. Iraq more so than Syria. 

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

"The United States will increase our pressure on ISIS and al Qaeda and will work to establish interim zones of stability, through ceasefires, to allow refugees to return home,"

Well if I was a refugee and had returned home to a pile of rubble I would ask this question "what happens next will funds be forthcoming to help me rebuild and then what do I do for a job". Oh I get it I will become a rebuilder. 

[Scott]

If the administration makes good on it's pledge to remove foreign aide from the State Department Budget, then the cost of running these safe zones is going to be high.   It is possible that the money could go through the Department of Defense, but having worked with contract from both, I can say that the DoD is not very careful with its money.   The State Department is.  

 

If they set up safe zones, reconstruction of villages and cities is essential.   In the long run it is cost effective to get people back to their homes and back to a semblance of normal life.   Humanitarian assistance helps to supply the materials, but much of the labor is done by the home/land owner themselves.  

 

We reconstructed entire villages, including schools and a health center in Northern Iraq for very little money per village.   The logistics and cost of building materials were supplied and some assistance in putting water systems etc., but the rest was done by the people themselves, with some guidance and instructions from builders, engineers and the like.  

 

Much of Syria has been absolutely decimated and reconstruction is going to be a huge cost.   The cost of clearing out the rubble is going to be high.  I don't know that the US should be offering much assistance because the US didn't do much of the damage.   It will be interesting to see if Russia is willing to help with reconstruction.  

 

The problem with safe zones is that they become breeding grounds for dissidents.  That is one of the reasons it is important to get them back to their homes and communities.

 

Whatever the problems are, it is good to see that the administration is taking an active role in dealing with the issue.  

[rijb]

20 minutes ago, Scott said:

I don't know that the US should be offering much assistance because the US didn't do much of the damage. 

They'll get the blame.

[boomerangutang]

                      It's such an unending can of worms.  Shoveling $50 billion in to the mix is going to do much good.  For starters, the US is the King Kong of wasteful spending.  Take electric power, for example.  US contractors would be inclined to construct the power plants ....or rebuild schools or hospitals residences/shops/government buildings ..... for much higher cost than if built by thrifty locals.   Better to supply locally made building supplies, and let locals take the initiative.  Perhaps a coupon/voucher system where each family gets 5000 bricks and 25 bags of cement.

 

               With power, for example, put in solar.  For buildings, use mobile homes/units.   If re-building is up to US standards, then the people in that region might think, logically, that getting their cities destroyed = getting them rebuilt to much higher quality.   So it's an incentive to stand by while a city gets destroyed.

 

                Also, the spread of ideas knows no boundaries.   Let's say the cities get rebuilt, it's not a stretch to picture radicals coming along and radicalizing the populace.  Similarly, Assad and his goons come to town and force everyone to comply with their demands or risk rotting in a dungeon.  Regardless, on-going conflict is inevitable.

[Scott]

23 minutes ago, rijb said:

They'll get the blame.

That may be true, but it will be a stretch to show that the US is responsible for the extreme destruction in Syria.    The US involvement has been limited.  

 

The problem with not offering foreign and humanitarian aid is that a country has little political capital to put on the country.  

 

US involvement in Iraq has been extensive and the commitment to the country has been there through both Republican and Democratic administrations.  

 

The problem of being selective, however, is that the goal is to make sure that ISIS is defeated and in order to do that, continuing involvement to make sure there is a resurgence.

 

Please note that I didn't say there should be no involvement, just limited involvement.  

[Scott]

4 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

                      It's such an unending can of worms.  Shoveling $50 billion in to the mix is going to do much good.  For starters, the US is the King Kong of wasteful spending.  Take electric power, for example.  US contractors would be inclined to construct the power plants ....or rebuild schools or hospitals residences/shops/government buildings ..... for much higher cost than if built by thrifty locals.   Better to supply locally made building supplies, and let locals take the initiative.  Perhaps a coupon/voucher system where each family gets 5000 bricks and 25 bags of cement.

 

               With power, for example, put in solar.  For buildings, use mobile homes/units.   If re-building is up to US standards, then the people in that region might think, logically, that getting their cities destroyed = getting them rebuilt to much higher quality.   So it's an incentive to stand by while a city gets destroyed.

 

                Also, the spread of ideas knows no boundaries.   Let's say the cities get rebuilt, it's not a stretch to picture radicals coming along and radicalizing the populace.  Similarly, Assad and his goons come to town and force everyone to comply with their demands or risk rotting in a dungeon.  Regardless, on-going conflict is inevitable.

Reconstruction projects under the Department of State are not wasteful.   Village reconstruction was done to traditional standards.   Many of the villages we rebuilt were not supplied with electricity and a few were given wind-powered generators, which were designed by one of the local engineers and provided a small amount of electricity.   Water systems were put in and much of that was funded by UNICEF and Save the Children to prevent water borne illness.   

 

Depending on the schedule for reconstruction, most villages were expected to be self sufficient within 3 to 6 months.   Before reconstruction was started there were agreements that they would plant crops, raise sheep/cattle/goats.   Those who didn't agree, got nothing.   

 

The people and the country itself has got to be responsible for a great deal of infrastructure building on their own.   We did not even build roads into the villages.   There was a dirt/gravel track that was put into some but only because it was essential to getting materials into the site.  

 

But let's remember, there is a ways to go before ISIS is defeated and we really get to argue about reconstruction.   Let's see how they do with safe zones first.  

[Scott]

A post with a quote but no link has been removed.   You must post the source and a link.  

 

 

[stander]

Tillerson said “defeating ISIS is the United States’ number one goal in the region,” using an acronym for the Islamic State.

http://www.standard.net/World/2017/03/22/Tillerson-calls-for-allies-aid-once-ISIS-leaves-Syria-Iraq.html