[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 182 (Thursday, November 14, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





              RECOGNIZING GLOBAL COALITION TO DEFEAT ISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Slotkin) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a bipartisan 
resolution I am introducing today, together with a group of Democrats 
and Republicans, recognizing the global coalition to defeat ISIS.
  This resolution recognizes the critical contributions of the counter-
ISIS coalition partners; the value of those partnerships to countering 
threats, both today and tomorrow; and the importance of building and 
maintaining trust among partners for the sake of future fights--as well 
as reaffirming Congress' commitment to defeating ISIS.
  It is important to remember how this coalition of 60-plus countries 
came together in the first place. Take yourself back 5 years. ISIS had 
taken over wide swaths of Iraq and Syria. They had huge amounts of 
territory. They were systematically slaughtering the opposition. They 
were targeting ethnic groups. They were targeting Christians. They were 
targeting Yazidis. They were systematically raping women. They were 
setting up bureaucratic structures, charging taxes, and 
extorting people.

  They were projecting violence and threats out of that territory into 
places like Europe, into places like Russia, and into places like the 
United States. So the Department of Defense and the Department of State 
pieced together 60 nations to contribute to a coalition.
  Some of those countries provide F-16 air cover. Some provide overhead 
imagery. Some provide human intelligence. Some train the Iraqi security 
forces and police. Everyone has a part to play.
  Today, as I speak, Secretary Pompeo is convening the counter-ISIS 
coalition at the highest levels in an emergency session to discuss the 
future of the counter-ISIS mission, following President Trump's 
decision to pull out U.S. forces from northern Syria.
  Our allies and partners are rightfully questioning the future of this 
coalition. The President surprised these nations, all 60 of them, with 
the pullout. Many of our partners found out about the pullout, in which 
they are involved, via tweet and via the media.
  As the counter-ISIS coalition partners come to Washington, I, 
therefore, want to take a moment to recognize their partnership, their 
contributions, and their commitment to the counter-ISIS fight.
  Why is it important to have a coalition? Why is it important that 60 
nations come together to fight this terrorist group? It is not just for 
show. For every airman, marine, soldier, or sailor from the U.K., 
Spain, France, or Norway who comes to contribute to the fight, that is 
one fewer soldier, airman, marine, or naval officer who needs to come 
from the United States. For every piece of intelligence that they risk 
their lives to collect, that is one fewer piece that we need to collect 
and risk our lives for.
  Most importantly, working in coalition keeps the American homeland 
safer than it would be simply if it were up to us to defend. In an era 
of globalized threats that can come from anywhere, we need a global 
coalition before the threats land on our shores.
  As we know in Michigan, our handshake is our bond; our word is our 
reputation; and we are stronger together than we are apart.
  I am, therefore, proud to be introducing this resolution, together 
with a bipartisan group, as a signal of our appreciation and our word 
and as a sign of our commitment to our counter-ISIS partners today and 
into the future.

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