Thread by @jseldin

Happening now: maintaining & securing stability - including freedom of navigation - and security key US interests in the US, @CENTCOM Commander, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie tells @MiddleEastInst

"The greatest threat to stability and security in the region is #Iran" per @CENTCOM's McKenzie "Iran actively stokes instability" in #Syria #Yemen & elsewhere

"They use both state violence & proxy violence"

Next comes #ISIS #alQaida - "they do retain the aspiration to attack the #UnitedStates & our allies" per @CENTCOM's McKenzie

Then comes great power competition from #Russia, #China

"There's actually no military component of what's known as the 'max pressure' campaign against #Iran" adds @CENTCOM's McKenzie, saying US military role is strictly deterrence

"We're in a period of what I would call contested deterrence w/#Iran" @CENTCOM's McKenzie tells @MiddleEastInst

"The Iranians have had to recalculate...they found a 'red line' and the US responded vigorously"

US not seeing state-on-state attacks from #Iran due to US strong response to attacks on US troops

"That's why we've seen a decline," per @CENTCOM's McKenzie

NEW: US starting strategic dialogue tomorrow with government of #Iraq at the ministerial level

"It is my belief that the gvt of Iraq is going to want to retain US & coalition forces" per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie

"Direct contact w/#Iran - there 's not much I can say about that" per @CENTCOM's McKenzie, though suggests some high-level contact may take place

"By and large, I think they know and respect our capabilities"

#ISIS maintains "global cyber presence" and cells across #Iraq #Syria

"This threat is not going to go away...even the brightest possible future is not a bloodless future" whether threat comes form ISIS or whatever replaces ISIS, per @CENTCOM's McKenzie

Big concerns about #Syria regime, #Russia forces taking on #ISIS, per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie, predicting both will struggle "to prevent the systemic rise of #ISIS"

#Taliban taking on #ISIS in #Afghanistan - worked in #Nangarhar province but "don't know" if that will continue in other parts of the country now, @CENTCOM's Gen Kenneth McKenzie tells @MiddleEastInst

"We're not going to get to perfection on this...there's always going to be the possibility of radicalization at a distance" @CENTCOM's McKenzie says of fighting #ISIS #alQaida

"I do worry about #China quite a bit" per @CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Kenneth McKenzie "We think about how we assure our partners that we're going to be reliable partners, that we're going to stick around"

#Russia in the @CENTCOM AOR - "Where they are it's pretty high intensity" per Gen McKenzie

But he adds, "I'm not one of those people who thinks Russia's a master chess player"

US "well-stocked to protect the force" vs #COVID19 #coronavirus in @CENTCOM AOR, per Gen McKenzie, saying that includes both US & partner forces

"It has not had a significant impact on our ability..."

#COVID19 is having an impact in some areas - "we're now very mindful of how we do outreach w/our partners" in #Iraq #Syria #Afghanistan, per @CENTCOM's McKenzie

US "worried about penetration" of #COVID19 #coronavirus in #Afghanistan, #Iraq due to prevalence of cases in #Russia #Iran

"We also invest a lot of time in making sure that right narrative is out there" per @CENTCOM's McKenzie, noting Russia & Iran disinformation campaigns

#Taliban "significantly penetrated" by #COVID19, per @CENTCOM's McKenzie

"I do think its affecting them" he adds, saying the impact on decision-making not be a good thing

#Afghanistan

#Iran has made "great sacrifices...gone to great lengths" to protects #IRGC #Quds Force, ballistic missile capabilities/programs from #COVID19, per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie

"They are still very capable in those areas"

US way forward in #Syria "a political decision" per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie, noting Bashar al-Assad like to ramp up pressure in East at some point

But for now, US focus is on supporting #SDF & countering #ISIS

"I do not know how long we will stay in Syria" per McKenzie

#SDF prisons holding 10,000 #ISIS fighters, including 2,000 #foreignfighters - "That's an issue that we need to think about as we go forward" per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie

.@CENTCOM also worried about #ISIS families, IDPs who are poised to become the next generation of terrorists "unless we come up with a long-term solution to deradicalization" per Gen McKenzie

"We don't have good answers to those problems yet"

"The #Taliban has to demonstrate they will be faithful partners" per @CENTCOM's Gen Kenneth McKenzie

"It is unclear to me yet" if Taliban has embraced that role, McKenzie adds

NEW: US military NOT ready to start pulling more forces out of #Afghanistan beyond the initial agreed upon drawdown

"Those conditions have not been fully met" @CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Kenneth McKenzie tells @MiddleEastInst

#Lebanon "I don't think Lebanese #Hezbollah answers immediately when #Iran calls" per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie, though he admits the relationship is strong

Big worry for @CENTCOM's commander - "The proliferation of small unmanned aerial platforms...one that you can go out and buy right now at Costco in the #UnitedStates

"I worry about our ability to protect against swarms of those crafts" per Gen McKenzie

re #drones