How ISIS Really Ends

The Road to Violent Extremist Disengagement and Reconciliation featuring USCENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie

ISIS remains a threat to regional and global security despite its territorial defeat in March 2019. The enduring defeat of ISIS will require more work to address the aftermath of conflict and to rebuild the region’s social fabric to enable people to move forward sustainably and peacefully. Of immediate concern is what to do with former ISIS combatants and their families, and the massive needs for disengagement, repatriation, and reintegration.

With thousands of former ISIS combatants from over 50 countries detained in prisons across Syria and Iraq and countless women and children in displacement camps—with nearly 70,000 in al Hol alone—countries worldwide face the difficult task of what to do with these individuals and how best to prevent future security challenges.

Meanwhile, the global COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the health and safety of those in the prisons and camps, as well as the ability of foreign governments, humanitarian organizations, and camp and prison administrations to continue operations. ISIS adherents have capitalized on this disruption by staging prison breakouts. This combination of stresses provides for an especially complicated set of tasks for governments, local communities, and the international community.

Join USIP as we host CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie and other experts for a discussion on the challenges of the post-ISIS landscape across Syria and Iraq, as well as the military’s role working alongside diplomacy and development to achieve the enduring defeat of ISIS and long-term stabilization.

You can take part in the conversation on Twitter with #ReintegratingExtremists.

Panelists:

Ambassador William “Bill” Roebuck

Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS; Senior Advisor to the Special Representative for Syria Engagement

Philippa Candler

Acting UNHCR Representative, Iraq

Maj. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich

Director of Operations, U.S. Central Command

Azadeh Moaveni

Project Director, Gender, International Crisis Group; author of “Guest House for Young Widows

Leanne Erdberg Steadman, moderator

Director of Countering Violent Extremism, U.S. Institute of Peace

Keynote Panel: What Does Enduring Defeat Look Like?

General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.

Commander, U.S. Central Command

Nancy Lindborg, moderator

President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

For more information about this event, please visit

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The United States Institute of Peace is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. To reduce future crises and the need for costly interventions, USIP works with governments and civil societies to help their countries solve their own problems peacefully. The Institute provides expertise, training, analysis, and support to those who are working to build a more peaceful, inclusive world.