A lasting defeat of Daesh will take “a combined diplomatic and military effort,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told reporters in Kuwait after meeting there with senior regional and military leaders.
Carter said efforts to defeat the terror group are shared by global coalition partners and that it “can’t be a purely American thing.”
Kuwait, along with four other Arab countries, is part of a global coalition of over 60 nations united to defeat Daesh.
“Our efforts to date have already been having some important impacts,” Carter said. “Our global coalition is up to the task, and so is American leadership, which has shone through — throughout the course of this campaign.”
“Lasting defeat of this brutal group can and will be accomplished,” he said.
Daesh threatens not only Iraq and Syria, Carter said, but also the region. Along with the coalition campaign’s diplomatic and military efforts, online innovation plays a role in defeating the terror group.
“ISIL’s use of social media will be pressing us to be more creative in combating it in the information dimension as well as the physical dimension,” Carter said.
Less than a week into his new post, Carter met with U.S. troops in Kuwait and attended a conference there with ambassadors and other regional leaders to share ideas on defeating Daesh.