Ayotte Calls for Greater NATO Role in Fight Against ISIS

Press Release

Today, in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte questioned experts regarding NATO's role in the fight against ISIS. In advance of the NATO Summit in Warsaw this week, Ayotte questioned former President Obama National Security Advisor and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General (retired) James Jones; Ambassador Nicholas Burns; and Senior Fellow and Director of the Strategy and Statecraft Program at the Center for a New American Security Julianne Smith.

Ayotte asked, "What greater role could NATO play here to address ISIL? As I think about NATO member...Turkey, with what just happened in Istanbul and what needs to happen right now in the operations on the Manbij pocket, along the Turkey border...where we know foreign fighters have gone back and forth, which has been very significant."

Ayotte continued, "What should [the United States'] role be in encouraging NATO and the Arab nations to join together so that we can more effectively defeat ISIS?"

General Jones discussed the importance of NATO helping Arab countries develop their own collective security organization and engaging proactively in Africa and elsewhere.

Ambassador Burns agreed that NATO member Turkey has a pivotal role to play and suggested that NATO could play a greater role against ISIS in Libya. He also said that NATO members could do more on counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation.

Ms. Smith suggested NATO could provide useful command and control capabilities.

Ayotte emphasized the threat that ISIS represents to partners in the Middle East and all NATO allies and called for increased U.S. leadership.

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