Press Conference USA

US STRATEGY TO COMBAT ISIL IN SYRIA AND IRAQ Host Carol Castiel, speaks with Sarah Margon, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, about how to combat the reign of terror being inflicted by the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) terrorists in Iraq and Syria. She asserts that the brutal tactics employed by Syrian President Bashar al Assad and Shiite militias in Iraq, which help fuel the rise of ISIL, must also be confronted. She also tells VOA that US and coalition air strikes alone on IS strongholds are insufficient to defeat ISIL’s onslaught and that only political and security reforms, which address Sunni grievances especially in Iraq, can truly accelerate long-term stability and keep Iraq from fragmenting along sectarian lines.