American Press

While most of the world is trying to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East is warning that elements of the Islamic State group are working to rebuild in western Syria. That is the region west of the Euphrates River where the Syrian regime is in control.

Gen. Frank McKenzie said insurgents are operating with some degree of freedom. He said the U.S. and its allies have little hope the Syrian regime that is backed by Russia will do anything to tamp down the group there.

The problem, McKenzie said, is caused by the slow-moving effort to transfer people out of Syrian refugee camps because of the coronavirus. One camp in northern Syria is home to as many as 70,000 people who were displaced by the ongoing civil war in Syria and the battle against the Islamic State.

McKenzie was speaking online to a United States Institute of Peace (USIP) forum. The USIP director for countering violent extremism said getting people out of those camps is the key to having them abandon violence and secure a new future.

Most nations are reluctant to take their own citizens back, fearing some may be potential Islamic State insurgents. The spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic disease, is also raising concerns.

McKenzie said unless political leaders find a way to de-radicalize and repatriate the displaced people in the camps, there will be another Islamic State resurgence in the future. And he accurately spelled out the problem.

“As young people grow up, we’re going to see them again unless we can turn them in a way to make them productive members of society,” he said. “We can either deal with this problem now or deal with it exponentially worse a few years down the road.”

The Associated Press said President Trump, as one of his key national security achievements, has touted defeat of the Islamic State. However, he decided to keep some U.S. troops in the east to continue working with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The situation McKenzie is explaining is complicated because there are so many nations involved and the coronavirus pandemic is a major concern of all of them. However, the thought of having to deal with another Islamic State should be motivation enough for leaders of all nations to seek solutions.

We hope the presidential candidates will address McKenzie’s concerns during their upcoming debates. As the general said, we can deal with it now or deal with a more complicated problem “a few years down the road.”