Presidential Memorandum Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
January 28, 2017
NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM – 3
MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
SUBJECT: Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is not the only threat
from radical Islamic terrorism that the United States faces, but it is
among the most vicious and aggressive. It is also attempting to create
its own state, which ISIS claims as a "caliphate." But there can be no
accommodation or negotiation with it. For those reasons I am directing
my Administration to develop a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS.
ISIS is responsible for the violent murder of American citizens in the
Middle East, including the beheadings of James Foley, Steven Sotloff,
and Peter Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as well as the death of Kayla Mueller.
In addition, ISIS has inspired attacks in the United States, including
the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, and the June
2016 attack in Orlando, Florida. ISIS is complicit in a number of
terrorist attacks on our allies in which Americans have been wounded or
killed, such as the November 2015 attack in Paris, France, the March
2016 attack in Brussels, Belgium, the July 2016 attack in Nice, France,
and the December 2016 attack in Berlin, Germany.
ISIS has engaged in a systematic campaign of persecution and
extermination in those territories it enters or controls. If ISIS is
left in power, the threat that it poses will only grow. We know it has
attempted to develop chemical weapons capability. It continues to
radicalize our own citizens, and its attacks against our allies and
partners continue to mount. The United States must take decisive action
to defeat ISIS.
Sec. 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States that ISIS be defeated.
Sec. 2. Policy Coordination. Policy coordination, guidance, dispute
resolution, and periodic in-progress reviews for the functions and
programs described and assigned in this memorandum shall be provided
through the interagency process established in National Security
Presidential Memorandum – 2 of January 28, 2017 (Organization of the
National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council), or any
successor.
(i) Development of a new plan to defeat ISIS (the Plan) shall commence immediately.
(ii) Within 30 days, a preliminary draft of the Plan to defeat ISIS
shall be submitted to the President by the Secretary of Defense.
(iii) The Plan shall include:
(A) a comprehensive strategy and plans for the defeat of ISIS;
(B) recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement and
other United States policy restrictions that exceed the requirements of
international law regarding the use of force against ISIS;
(C) public diplomacy, information operations, and cyber strategies to
isolate and delegitimize ISIS and its radical Islamist ideology;
(D) identification of new coalition partners in the fight against ISIS
and policies to empower coalition partners to fight ISIS and its
affiliates;
(E) mechanisms to cut off or seize ISIS's financial support, including
financial transfers, money laundering, oil revenue, human trafficking,
sales of looted art and historical artifacts, and other revenue sources;
and
(F) a detailed strategy to robustly fund the Plan.
(b) Participants. The Secretary of Defense shall develop the
Plan in collaboration with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National
Intelligence, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
(c) Development of the Plan. Consistent with applicable
law, the Participants identified in subsection (b) of this section
shall compile all information in the possession of the Federal
Government relevant to the defeat of ISIS and its affiliates. All
executive departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by
law, promptly comply with any request of the Participants to provide
information in their possession or control pertaining to ISIS. The
Participants may seek further information relevant to the Plan from any
appropriate source.
(d) The Secretary of Defense is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register
DONALD J. TRUMP
