Commander sees further presence in Iraq, Syria

Nations’ forces will need U.S. help long after ISIS defeated

The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State should prepare to maintain a presence in the region to train and support ground forces even after the imminent collapse of the militant group’s so-called caliphate, the top coalition commander said.

“I think we need to structure ourselves to be prepared for a long-term commitment to building partner capacity in this area,” Army Lt. Gen. Paul Funk told USA TODAY.

Any decision about a long-term commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq would come from the White House, which has not yet publicly discussed its future plans.

“I think that is exactly the way we’re leaning, but that will be a decision for the policymakers,” Funk said Thursday.

Commanders want to avoid a repeat of 2011, when the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq led to the Islamic State’s invasion of Iraq three years later.

A long-term coalition presence will help Iraqi troops prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, professionalize Iraq’s military and provide a balance against Iranian influence, said James Jeffrey, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

“I think we need to structure ourselves to be prepared for a long-term commitment.” Army Lt. Gen. Paul Funk

The Islamic State, once a formidable force that governed large swaths of Iraq and Syria, has been reduced to several thousand fighters in a string of isolated towns and villages along the Euphrates River. The militant group, also known as ISIS, controls about 5% of the territory it held at its peak.

Commanders expect ISIS to transform from a terror group controlling territory to a more disbursed organization of localized cells. The organization will still be capable of acts of terror but pose less of a regional threat than when it controlled territory and mobilized organized military forces.

Fighting that type of terrorist group requires a different set of skills. Much of the coalition training to date has been designed to build a force capable of fighting a conventional battle in cities like Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria.