Lt. Gen. James Terry — a native of Chatsworth in North Georgia — commands the Combined Joint Task Force for Operation Inherent Resolve. That operation is focused on defeating the Muslim extremist group variously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or its Arabic acronym, Daesh. Terry, who is deployed overseas, answered questions by email. His answers were edited for brevity.
Q: What successes have you experienced so far? Can you quantify them?
A: The (Iraqi security forces) and the (Kurdish) Peshmerga have done, and continue to do, an excellent job. They've retaken the Mosul Dam, the Baiji Oil Refinery, the Haditha Dam, and other areas including Muthanna, Karma, Rabiya, and Zumar. Additionally, government of Iraq forces, enabled by the coalition, have been able to interdict enemy fighters and destroy resources along ingress/egress routes throughout the region. In Syria, we have enabled forces to regain control of cities like Kobani.
Q: What are the keys to stopping the Islamic State?
A: Increasing the capabilities of the (Iraqi security forces), backed by an inclusive (government of Iraq), leads to stability inside of Iraq. The rest is up to them. But the (government of Iraq) understands the great threat they face, and they are resolved to defeat it. The coalition will assist the Iraqis in this effort by enabling our partners with various capabilities, maintaining efforts to build partner capacity, and providing advice and assist teams.
Q: What became of Iraq, its people and its institutions — including its police and military — after the U.S. pulled its troops out of there in 2011?
A: The leadership of the previous government in Iraq was one that was not inclusive of minorities, particularly the Sunni tribes. The Iraqis in many areas of the country seem to have stopped training almost immediately after the departure of U.S. trainers in 2011. Combat skills are perishable and must be continually practiced, and natural attrition rates in any military will mean that, over time, you will have turnover as new soldiers come in and experienced soldiers depart. Training must be a continuing practice.
Now, you have an Iraqi government that is making earnest moves toward a more inclusive participation by minorities, starting to root out corruption in the military leadership, and has made sweeping changes in many leadership positions within the (Iraqi security forces). We are here at the request of the government of Iraq to help them regenerate some of their combat power in order to oppose and counter the threat of Daesh to their people.
The three-star U.S. Army general leading the campaign to defeat the Muslim extremists rampaging across the Middle East is a veteran soldier from the North Georgia mountains who roots for the Atlanta Braves and the Georgia Bulldogs.
Lt. Gen. James Terry — who was born in Chatsworth and still calls Georgia home – is commanding a coalition of more than 40 nations fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. A 36-year Army veteran, he brings extensive experience to the job, including three tours in Afghanistan.
Terry is not the only Georgian in the mix. He reports to another Peach State native, Gen. Lloyd Austin III. Austin — who hails from Thomasville — leads U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
Further, 1,351 other soldiers who either call Georgia home or are based there are taking part in the campaign against the jihadist group. They come from East Point, Fort Gillem, Fort Gordon, Fort Stewart, and Gainesville. And they are fighting a ruthless foe that has overrun Iraqi military positions, beheaded American journalists and others, and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. On Tuesday, the Islamic State released a video purporting to show a captive Jordanian pilot being burned alive.
In an exclusive interview conducted by email, Terry highlighted the coalition’s recent gains against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, an Arabic acronym. Backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, Kurdish forces recently drove the Islamic State out of the Syrian border town of Kobani. Kurdish and Iraqi forces have also retaken major dams and an oil refinery in Iraq.
“The coalition has made significant progress in halting the Daesh offensive and reclaiming several areas previously influenced by Daesh,” said Terry, who is deployed overseas. “We must continue to build capability and enable our partners to defeat this threat to their families and way of life.”
Terry predicted the coalition will defeat the Islamic State, an offshoot of al-Qaida that is bent on creating a caliphate or Islamic government. But he cautioned that many challenges remain. They include keeping Iraq’s security forces adequately trained while halting the ethnic tensions that divide their nation. Iraqi troops in many areas of the country seemed to have stopped training after their U.S. military advisers pulled out of the country in 2011, Terry said.
“You will see some local counterattacks, and some of these areas will be contested,” he said. “It requires patience as we continue to build the Iraqi security forces.”
The Islamic State’s reach has also extended abroad. The gunman in the deadly massacre at the kosher grocery store in Paris at the beginning of the year swore allegiance to the Sunni militant group. Last month, Islamic State sympathizers hacked Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts. Also in January, federal authorities apprehended an Ohio man who they allege hoped to ally himself with the Islamic State and who had planned an attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Since the campaign against the Islamic State began in August, the U.S. military and its allies have conducted 2,233 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Pentagon figures show. Some of the targets include trucks, bunkers and places where the Islamic State set up improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs. As of Jan. 9, the military campaign has cost $1.3 billion.
Last year alone, 17,049 civilians were killed in Iraq, according to Iraq Body Count, a Britain-based nongovernmental group that bases its numbers on media reports and other sources. Of those, 4,325 were killed by the Islamic State and 118 were killed by coalition airstrikes, the IBC said.
The U.S. military confirmed last month that it is investigating two allegations of civilian casualties as a result of allied airstrikes from last year. A U.S. Central Command spokesman said 13 other allegations were found to be not credible.
“We take all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and we apply very rigorous standards in our targeting process to prevent civilian casualties in the first place,” Sgt. 1st Class Sheryl Lawry of U.S. Central Command said in an email.
Fellow soldiers from Georgia swell with pride when they talk about how two of their own are in charge of fighting the Islamic State. James Donald, a retired two-star general from Georgia who served with Terry in the Army, said Terry is calm under pressure. Terry served as Donald’s executive officer when Donald led a brigade of the 101st Airborne Division.
“He is a calm, unflappable commander who does his homework and really makes the right decisions and at the right time,” said Donald, a former Georgia Corrections Department commissioner who now serves on the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles. “He has that special air about him that instills confidence in people.”
Brig. Gen. Joe Jarrard, who recently took over command of the Georgia National Guard, had Terry as one of his professors when he was studying at the University of North Georgia.
“He has just always been a mentor and a friend, and he always sets such a good example as a leader that you just want to be like him,” said Jarrard, who worked in Terry’s headquarters as a Defense Department contractor when Terry led the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan. “He also leads from the front. He never asks someone to do something that he wouldn’t do. He has a way with people I think that makes them want to work harder.”
Of the military campaign against the Islamic State, Jarrard added: “To have a Georgian leading that fight is pretty remarkable.”
About the Author
