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Report | Aug. 24, 2015

2015 Lead Inspector General for Overseas Contingency Operations | Operation Inherent Resolve | Quarterly Report to the United States Congress | April 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015

 This quarterly report to Congress provides an update on the programs and operations that support the U.S. strategy to counter the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including military operations under the complex overseas contingency operation (OCO) known as Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). The Lead Inspector General (Lead IG) agencies - the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG), Department of State Office of Inspector General (DoS OIG), and U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) - have responsibility for oversight reporting on the OCO.

Several U.S. agencies are working across multiple lines of effort within the counter-ISIL strategy. The Department of State has reported on its diplomatic activities to foster more inclusive governance in Iraq - efforts considered key to the long-term success of the U.S. strategy. Its programs in other areas complement the work of the Departments of Treasury and Justice to disrupt ISIL’s finances and stem the flow of foreign fighters.

U.S.-led coalition military operations include the mission to provide air support for anti-ISIL forces and a train-and-equip program to build the capacity of security forces in Iraq and moderate Syrian opposition fighters in Syria. This quarter, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter addressed the complex challenges with the training and equipping programs for both countries, acknowledging that they have started slowly. Finding qualified individuals who meet the multiphase screening criteria in Syria has been problematic. For Iraq, the tribal interests of prospective recruits are often at odds with a government-backed coalition.

Across the backdrop of the fight against ISIL, millions of civilians live in need. Those affected are dependent on U.S. and international programs providing humanitarian relief that began long before OIR itself. Events this quarter, such as the Ramadi campaign in Iraq and fighting around the Syrian border town of Kobane, have served to deepen the plight of Syrians and Iraqis driven from their homes. The United States continues to provide need-based assistance programs to address the complex regional crisis. This report provides a separate section on these efforts.

This quarterly report focuses on the OCO programs and operations only. Full reporting of Lead IG activities will be addressed in the October 2015 OIR combined quarterly and biannual report; however, details of selected ongoing activities have been incorporated throughout the report. For FY 2016, OIR oversight will continue to have a regional approach and align to the U.S. strategy for the nine lines of effort to counter ISIL.