Washington: Morocco, U.S. Key partner in countering violent extremism & ISIS terror threat

Morocco is “a critical partner” of the U.S. in countering violent extremism and terror threat in the Sahel and across Africa, said on Monday Ms. Dana Stroul, deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Speaking at a special online briefing with Major General Matthew McFarlane, Commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Ms. Stroul said Morocco “shares U.S. interests and objectives in countering violent extremism and addressing not only in the Sahel but across Africa the conditions that give rise to Daesh’s expansion.”

 

“These are areas that we maintain focus on and we partner not only with our partners but with the State Department and others to address it on a daily basis,” added the U.S. deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle-East.

“There is also active consideration and planning with our partners in the Sahel for how we work together to address ISIS, or Daesh, in the Sahel,” underlined the U.S. official.

For his part, Gen. McFarlane said the threat of ISIS still exists. That’s why the U.S. continues building the capability and capacity of its partners so they can continue to foil ISIS terror plots.

 

“While we’ve seen a reduction in ISIS attacks and their effectiveness over time, it takes many steps to climb a mountain,” said the General, warning that even though ISIS remains militarily defeated and holds no territory, its extremist ideology remains unconstrained and active, seeking to reconstitute and resume their campaign of hate in this region and around the world.

 

The US government remains committed to defeating Daesh and its ideology in Iraq, Syria, the wider Middle East and all around the world, the US military and defense chiefs insisted.