The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) is working from different angles, forming a sometimes disorganized effort working at cross-purposes, according to a government report by
the Congressional Research Service.
The 22 countries involved in the coalition head up various parts of the effort and each has its own goals, the report says. That sometimes leads to unintentional conflicts of objectives.
"These coalition coordination challenges were demonstrated in recent military campaigns (and particularly in Afghanistan)," the report reads. "Exacerbating matters, other actors in the region — some of whom are coalition partners — have different, and often conflicting, longer-term regional geopolitical interests from those of the United States or other coalition members."
In addition, coalition participants have different tolerances for risk, the report said, which can determine "rules of engagement" or "caveats" that can constrain the ability of military commanders from employing military force as they see fit.
"While navigable, all these factors can make it considerably more difficult to consolidate gains and achieve campaign success," the report says.
A chart of participation in training missions and airstrikes shows the United States by far making the most contributions. American forces were responsible for 3,550 of the almost 6,000 total training missions in Iraq and all 700 of the missions in Syria.
The next highest contributor was Australia at 500. And airstrike contributions were not given for any country.
The report was not made public by the U.S. government, but was released by the Federation of American Scientists,
The Washington Free Beacon reported.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.