Defense Secretary Ash Carter says he's hoping this year to drive the Islamic State out of the two largest and most important cities in its self-proclaimed caliphate, Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.
In an interview with NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep, Carter offered a broad assessment of U.S. military operations, saying the U.S. was winding down in Afghanistan, while looking to step up the tempo in Syria and Iraq.
"In Syria and Iraq, we're looking to do more because we need to accelerate the defeat of ISIL," Carter said in reference to the Islamic State. "The president has instructed us to do that and has indicated that he's willing to consider proposals to do more and we've given him proposals to do more and he's granted every proposal we've asked."
Carter did not provide specifics, though the U.S. effort has centered almost entirely on an air campaign against the Islamic State since it was launched in the summer of 2014.
While the extremist group has lost some ground in both Syria and Iraq, it remains in firm control of Raqqa, in north central Syria, which effectively serves as its headquarters, and Mosul, in northern Iraq, that country's second largest city.
The Islamic State says "they have the state established in Syria and Iraq," Carter said. "That's why it's so important for us to take Raqqa away from ISIL and restore it to the people who live there, and to take Mosul in Iraq."
Driving ISIL out would have great significance "so it's plain to all there's not going to be a country called the Islamic State with that kind of ideology, and that's the first step toward defeating them worldwide," Carter said.
Asked if he wanted to do this in 2016, Carter said:
"We certainly want to do that and we're formulating our plans and gathering capabilities in order to do that. We want to retake Raqqa, retake Mosul, and destroy ISIL in Iraq and Syria as soon as possible."
With the U.S. in its 15th year of war, and with the Obama administration in its final year, Carter was asked whether he would be handing over to his successor a country in a permanent state of war. Carter said:
"With respect to Afghanistan ... we're winding down our involvement there and successfully transferring security to the Afghan security forces. We obviously have enormous work to do in Syria and Iraq. Is there any shortage of challenges in the future? No, but we're up to it and basically optimistic about our security future.
I think it means a state of permanent vigilance, at a minimum, and that's why we need to keep our force at the cutting edge and we continue to have real challenges ahead, Syria and Iraq and ISIL being just one of them."
You can hear the full interview at the audio link at the top of this page.
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Transcript
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Spend a few minutes with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, and you sense the breadth of his job.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
You can ask about trying to capture the ISIS capital, Raqqa. As we're about to hear, Carter's goal is to see Raqqa fall this year.
MONTAGNE: You can also ask about maternity leave for American soldiers. That, too, is part of Carter's job managing a vast organization. And yesterday, Carter announced a change for new mothers.
INSKEEP: Across the military, they now get 12 weeks off. That is fewer weeks than the Navy wanted, but it's a big increase for the Army, where the old standard was six weeks. Carter spoke with us about his effort to retain military personnel as they fight one years-long conflict after another.
ASH CARTER: It's an all-volunteer force, which means we compete for people and talent. And we now are having a generation of service members who, in very large numbers, have families. And where we can make reasonable accommodations that make their family life easier, it's going to be easier for us to hang on to these gifted people.
INSKEEP: As I'm sure you know very well, some Army officials, as they looked at the prospect of increasing the current six weeks of maternity leave, what they saw was effectively reducing their force by several thousand troops at the same moment that you're reducing the force anyway below the levels that a commission has recently found that would be advisable. Are you going too far here?
CARTER: Well, that's exactly the reason why we studied it so carefully. When we grant them additional parental leave, there's a period of time when they're not available to the force. And that's why we arrived at the 12-week number. And you're right, some people wanted it to be lower. Some people wanted it to be higher. But all of our data and studies and the advice of our senior uniformed leaders suggested that 12 was not only the right number, but is in fact, by the standards of other institutions in society, generous enough that we could compete for talent, which we have to do.
INSKEEP: We're, of course, talking about the future in effect here - the long-term future of the military, which is the heart of your job, Mr. Secretary. I'd like to know, as you look toward the military you're going to leave when the Obama administration leaves office, are you expecting that there will need to be a long-term force based in Afghanistan?
CARTER: Well, our plan for Afghanistan is to have a presence there which helps the Afghan security forces maintain security in the country. And we have made a long-term commitment to that, as have all the members of the coalition. But the idea is that we have been progressively turning over their own security to the Afghan security forces as we strengthen them.
INSKEEP: Do you have to be prepared to be deploying or continuing to deploy military forces for years into the future in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria?
CARTER: Well, as I said, in Afghanistan, our plan - and we expect to be able to carry out that plan - is to wind down the force there. In Syria and Iraq, we're looking actually to do more because we need to accelerate the defeat of ISIL. The president has instructed us to do that and has indicated that he's willing to consider proposals to do more. And we've given him proposals to do more, and he has granted every proposal we've asked him. And do I expect more in the future? Yes. We're looking for opportunities to do more. So we've got a lot of work to do with respect to ISIL, but I'm confident we'll do it and we'll win.
INSKEEP: As you know, military strategists talk about destroying an enemy's centers of gravity. Many see the center of gravity for ISIS as simply the fact of a caliphate. It's of huge propaganda value. Can that ever really be destroyed?
CARTER: Yes, it can be destroyed because they say it's Raqqa and Syria. And they say that they have the - a state established in Syria and Iraq. That's why it's so important for us to take Raqqa away from ISIL and restore it to the people who live there, and to take Mosul, in Iraq, which is Iraq's second largest city, also occupied by ISIL, away from ISIL. So it's plain to all. There's not going to be a country called the Islamic State with that kind of ideology. And that's the first step towards defeating them worldwide.
INSKEEP: Do you see a way that Raqqa would be captured during 2016?
CARTER: Well, we certainly want to do that, and we're formulating our plans and gathering capabilities in order to do that. We want to retake Raqqa, retake Mosul, and destroy ISIL in Iraq and Syria as soon as possible.
INSKEEP: What are the implications for you that it is now ever more clear that a political solution is not particularly near? There are peace talks. They're starting a little late. The different parties are not even in the same room. This is going to take a while, if it works at all.
CARTER: Well, we do hope that the civil war needs to be put to a rest in Syria because remember - that's what gave ISIL a foothold in Syria in the first place. In the long run, to give the people of Syria as a whole the future that they deserve, there has to be a resolution of the civil war. That means a new government of Syria that is moderate - not radical - and that can govern the place decently. That's the path the United States is going to be on. But we can't wait for that to occur to fight ISIL. We need to get with fighting ISIL now.
INSKEEP: Final thing, Mr. Secretary, President Obama's administration can be seen in part as an effort to get the United States out of a state of permanent war. The president did get U.S. troops out of Iraq for a time. There was an effort to end the war in Afghanistan. In spite of those efforts, do you feel that when this administration leaves you will be leaving your successor a state of permanent war?
CARTER: Well, we have major responsibilities around the world. With respect to Afghanistan, which we talked about earlier, I think we're winding down our involvement there and successfully transferring security to Afghan security forces. We obviously have enormous work to do in Syria and Iraq. Is there any shortage of challenges in the future? No. But we're up to it, and basically optimistic about our security future.
INSKEEP: Even if it means a state of permanent war - you're always fighting somewhere.
CARTER: Well, I think means a state of permanent vigilance at a minimum. And that's why we need to keep our force at the cutting edge. And we continue to have real challenges ahead, Syria and Iraq and ISIL being just one of them. That's the price of leadership, but that's what we owe the American population.
INSKEEP: Secretary Carter, thanks very much for your time.
CARTER: Good to be with you, Steve. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
INSKEEP: Ash Carter is President Obama's Secretary of Defense. He spoke at the Pentagon yesterday on the same day that he announced a policy change - 12 weeks of maternity leave for military personnel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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