Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Jul 13 20 tweets 15 min read
4,000-5,000 non #Syria|n fighters still being detained in NE #Syria, along w/thousands of family members-"a serious ongoing security & humanitarian threat" @StateDept acting CT Coordinator Timothy Betts tells @MiddleEastInst @ICSR_Centre

Leaving them there "not a viable option"
"#ISIS knows that prisons breaks work-they're time tested and generate long-lasting results" per @StateDept's Betts

ISIS tried at #Hasakah in January, has others in its sights-"We know they will try to attack them again"
"The only durable solution...is for each country to take back its nationals" per @StateDept's Betts

"We cannot fight our way out of this side of the battle" vs #ISIS, he says
"There is great urgency" per @StateDept's Betts "But we do not have to solve the entire problem all at once"

Betts suggests starting on the easier problems:
-repatriating women & children
-fund vital humanitarian/stabilization efforts
-work w/other gvts on repatriation
Conditions in NE #Syria, at places like #alHol are so harsh, "We are seeing a greater openness there by resident's to #ISIS' return" warns @StateDept's Betts
#Iraq|is represent 1 out of every 3 detained fighters in NE #Syria, per @StateDept's Betts
Detainees in NE #Syria - "We must collectively work on this problem & we must work on it now"per @StateDept's Betts, calling it a political problem bcs of dangers posed by repatriated #ISIS fighters radicalizing others
Per @StateDept's Betts, not addressing the detainee issue, leaving them in NE #Syria risks "The possible resurgence of #ISIS"

"The balance of risk is far greater" leaving foreign nationals there, he says
Repatriating prisoners, detainees in NE #Syria - "This is achievable & far cheaper than the military blood and treasure" needed to defeat #ISIS' caliphate in #Syria & #Iraq, per @StateDept's Betts
#ISIS attempted #Hasakah prison break in January 2022 "was a wake-up call" per @StateDept's Betts

"It demonstrated the detention facilities were not as secure as we might have believed...underscored we need to pick up the pace of improving the facilities"
Says the #Hasakah prison break/attack by #ISIS also showed the need to improve humanitarian conditions & address need to keep youth separate
#Hasakah prison break-"Not clear of those detainees who aren't there [now], how many of them died & who rejoined the fight" per @StateDept's Betts

Escapees - about a dozen - "Hardened fighters, definitely capable ppl"
"The attack was also a wake-up cal for the #SDF...we expect that they have also made adjustments" per @StateDept's Betts

But he adds, "We do see a continuing need"
"In the last 18 months, the #Iraq|is have really stepped up their game" on repatriations from NE #Syria, per @StateDept's Betts

Iraq w/int'l assistance, have addressed many of the issues to help make reintroducing ppl to their communities of origin - going "quite well" he says
#alHol - "Security is a huge problem there" per @StateDept's Betts, who says US training #Syria|n security forces "who will have a civilian face"

"What we want to avoid is militarization of the camp ...It needs to remain a civilian operation"
The militarization option in #alHol that the US wants to avoid is a need to send in US forces, per @StateDept's Betts
#Turkey threats to launch new military campaign in NE #Syria - "Increased military activity...is only going to increase the instability & the opportunities for #ISIS" per @StateDept's Betts

Warns military activity will likely be used by ISIS to attempt more prison breaks
"It's difficult to send ppl back to countries were we aren't assured they are going to receive humane treatment" per @StateDept's Betts

"We're prepared to help countries that are willing to take back their nationals but lack the capacity"
NEW: US has repatriated 39 US citizens from #Syria & #Iraq, per @StateDept's Betts

That's +12 since @TheJusticeDept announced in October 2020 it had repatriated all 27 citizens known to have traveled to Syria or Iraq to join #ISIS

Background: voanews.com/a/middle-east_…
More details on #ISIS fighter/family situation in NE #Syria:

- 4,000-5,000 non-Syrian fighters detained
- almost 60,000 ppl at #alHol, 1/2 under 12yo

per @StateDept's Betts

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More from @jseldin

Jul 15
NEW - Day 142 of #Russia invasion of #Ukraine

"Russian forces are limited to incremental if any gains" in the #Donbas "held off" by #Ukraine forces, per a senior US military official

Says Russians have not been able to advance on #Slovansk
US confirms #Russia used submarine launched missiles in deadly attack on #Vinnytsia, per a senior US military official

Says "no indication" there was a legitimate military target anywhere nearby
US provided #HIMARS - "They're having a very, very significant effect" for #Ukraine, per a senior US military official

"We've all seen the #Russia|ns slow their movement & advances"
Read 19 tweets
Jul 14
US, #Netherlands - "Our countries share a thirst for liberty" Dutch @DefensieMin @KajsaOllongren tells #ACFrontPage

#Russia's Vladimir #Putin is "tsar-struck" she says, and fears liberty Image
"#Ukraine can prevail w/our help... #Russia cannot win this war" per Dutch @DefensieMin @KajsaOllongren
The #Netherlands will be spending 2% of GDP in 2024 as pledged, per Dutch @DefensieMin @KajsaOllongren
Read 14 tweets
Jul 13
"#ISIS is not gone" per @WHNSC's Joshua Geltzer, who says ISIS still sticking w/its basic game plan of taking advantage of ungoverned spaces, instability, carry out attacks and try to establish some territorial control

ISIS claiming 350 attacks this year in #Iraq #Syria
US sees financial movement between #ISIS core & its affiliates, as well as attempts to maintain a coherent over-arching strategy, @WHNSC's Joshua Geltzer tells @MiddleEastInst @ICSR_Centre
"There is a level of collaboration & coordination" per @WHNSC's Joshua Geltzer on #ISIS & its affiliates

Points to call by ISIS core earlier this year for affiliated to ramp up attacks - a call he says was answered
Read 7 tweets
Jul 13
"#ISIS remains a real & potent threat" @DeptofDefense Deputy Asst Sec. for the Middle East Dana Stroul tells @MiddleEastInst @ICSR_Centre

Says ISIS "working to infiltrate population centers" while also working in small cells in rural areas
"The #UnitedStates is committed to maintaining our force presence in #Iraq & #Syria to achieve the enduring defeat of #ISIS" per @DeptofDefense's Stroul
10,000 #ISIS fighters still being held in make-shift prisons across NE #Syria by the #SDF, per @DeptofDefense's Stroul

"No secret" ISIS wants to replicate January's attack on prison in #Hasakah, she adds
Read 18 tweets
Jul 13
"We need to get those children out of the cmaps & the prisons that they're living in" @SavetheChildren #Syria Response Director Sonia Khush tells @MiddleEastInst @ICSR_Centre

"There is a lot of hope for them to live a normal life" if they can get out of the camps, she says
Children stuck in IDP camps, prisons in NE #Syria are not the next wave of #ISIS - they are victims, per @SavetheChildren's Khush
Children in NE #Syria IDP camps - "Repatriations are not an insurmountable problem" per @hrw's @lettatayler "There is a lack of political will"
Read 11 tweets
Jul 8
NEW: @POTUS praises the heroism of @CIA, especially in regards to Vladimir Putin & #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine

Biden said the CIA “punched a big hole” in the #Kremlin's playbook

CIA workforce gave Biden a standing ovation as he left...

via WH radio pooler @Tara_Mckelvey
Comments came during a speech by @POTUS to @CIA's workforce at CIA HQ -- to commemorate the spy agency's 75th anniversary
"I'm honored to be here standing in front of this hallowed wall to honor 75 years in this proud institution" per @POTUS

"For 75 years, our nation's intelligence professionals have worked unceasingly & have sacrificed willingly make our country safer"
Read 10 tweets

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