Hearing of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Joe Wilson, Hearing on the Counterterrorism Strategy Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

Hearing

Today, Chairman Joe Wilson (R-SC), of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, made the following statement on the Subcommittee's hearing titled, "The Counterterrorism Strategy Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): Are We on the Right Path?"

"I am pleased to welcome everyone here today for this very important hearing on the counterterrorism strategy against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, otherwise known as ISIL or Daesh.

Daesh continues to spread and create instability throughout the Middle East, northern Africa and Asia. Their propaganda and insidious campaign of influence extends globally, manipulating and recruiting young men and women who are willing to die for Daesh.

The trajectory we are on is not promising. The President himself has acknowledged that we do not yet have a complete strategy to combat ISIL. Defense Secretary Carter has acknowledged that the military is reviewing how to increase the effectiveness of our campaign, and that an additional 450 troops would deploy to Iraq to expand the advise and assist mission.

When I last visited Iraq in February of this year along with Representatives Seth Moulton, Elise Stefanik and Brad Ashford, there was talk that the Iraqi Army would begin taking back Mosul by the summer. Today, sadly, we see that this is not the case; leaving nearly a million people subjugated. While often characterized as a terrorist organization, Daesh fights and behaves like an army. They remain well funded and resourced. And as we saw recently in Ramadi, they do not necessarily need overwhelming numbers to win on the battlefield; only an ability to strike fear in the hearts of those they encounter.

Today, we seek answers to very simple but serious questions of national importance:

First, are we on the right path to defeat Daesh?
Second, what problems exist with our current counterterrorism strategy?
And lastly, what other actions could we take to counter this evolving national security threat?

We will not answer all of these questions today. But what will be certain is the fact that it will take years to render Daesh ineffective. Because of that, we cannot ignore the pressure of declining defense budgets and the looming shadow of Defense Sequestration. As we examine our strategy against Daesh, we must remind ourselves that if Defense Sequestration continues, we will truly be fighting this threat with one hand tied behind our back.

We are fortunate today to have before us a panel of expert witnesses. They are:

* Ms. Linda Robinson, a Senior International Policy Analyst with the RAND Corporation;

* Mr. Michael Eisenstadt, the Director of the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy

* Dr. Fred Kagan, the Director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute

* And Mr. Brian Fishman, a Counterterrorism Research Fellow with the International Studies Program at the New America Foundation"

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