WASHINGTON (June 21, 2016) —
Defense Secretary Ash Carter released statements last night
welcoming decisions by two coalition nations that he said would
accelerate the effort to bring about a lasting defeat to the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant.
Poland announced that it will
deploy 60 special operations forces to Iraq, as well as four F-16s and
associated personnel to Kuwait for reconnaissance missions over Iraq and
Syria. New Zealand will keep up to 143 trainers for the
partner-capacity-building mission at Taji, Iraq, until November 2018,
will provide additional training of Iraqi security forces in Besmaya,
and will authorize the training of stabilization forces.
Global Threat Requires Global Undertaking
Last week, Carter said, he
discussed with Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz in Brussels
and with New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee in Stuttgart,
Germany, his belief that the lasting defeat of ISIL must be a global
undertaking, because ISIL is a global threat.
“Expanding the resources dedicated to the fight allows us to further accelerate the campaign,”
Carter said of Poland’s decision to expand its counter-ISIL role. “I am
grateful for the meaningful action of the Polish government following
the meetings last week, and for the commitment from the Polish people to
this fight.”
The secretary noted an earlier
decision by New Zealand to deploy a C-130 Hercules and up to 40
personnel to support coalition operations and that New Zealand also has
pledged $1 million in stabilization funding for Iraq.
“I am grateful to the government of New Zealand and Minister
Brownlee for the decision to take these meaningful actions and to the
people of New Zealand for their staunch support in this fight,” Carter
said.