Under the Lead Inspector General framework, the Inspectors General for the Department of Defense, Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development conduct oversight of and report on the overseas contingency operation "Operation Inherent Resolve" (OIR). The mission of OIR is to advise, assist, and enable partner forces until they can independently defeat ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria, in order to set conditions for long-term security cooperation frameworks. The broader counter-ISIS campaign includes supporting the Iraqi government and local Syrian partners with civilian-led stabilization activities. This report also discusses the planned, ongoing, and completed oversight work conducted by the Lead IG agencies and our partner oversight agencies during the quarter.
ISIS capabilities remained “degraded” due to Coalition-assisted counter-terrorism pressure, with the group conducting fewer attacks, which were mostly small and opportunistic, and suffered from ongoing leadership losses at the hands of the Coalition. Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Security Forces made no notable gains in counter-ISIS capability. Syrian partner forces, with Coalition support, continued to conduct counter-ISIS operations and train guard forces.
There was limited progress toward U.S. goals to improve security, governance, promote economic growth, and address humanitarian crises in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, the international community continued to transition humanitarian response operations to the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The decrease in internationally-funded humanitarian services had not been met with an equivalent, or even near-equivalent, increase in services from the Iraqi government, according to USAID. In northwestern Syria, USAID reported that significant gaps in health services remained since the February earthquakes, particularly in areas where healthcare infrastructure was already fragile due to conflict. The U.S. Government announced an additional $920 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syrian crisis, including $566 million for USAID.
Operation Inherent Resolve Lead Inspector General Report in Brief, April 1, 2023-June 30, 2023