Joint Press Conference by Secretary Carter and Secretary Michael Fallon > U.S. Department o... 8 of 14 https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/937142/joint-press-conference-... First to Secretary Carter, if you could speak a little bit about Libya for a second. There's been a lot of progress on the ground there. How close do you believe the forces that are being supported by U.S. strikes are to eliminating the Islamic state in Sirte? And then I have a question for Secretary Fallon. SEC. CARTER: Well, with the support of our airstrikes, those forces, the GNA-aligned forces, have now cornered ISIL in one small section of the city of Sirte. And I expect that they'll eliminate that -- any remaining opposition shortly. And that's a good thing. That means Sirte will have been rid of ISIL, which was its principal concentration in Libya. That doesn't end our continuing efforts in Libya, both military and political. We'll continue to support those who combat ISIL there, as everywhere else around the world. And, of course, we're also trying to participate in getting a political settlement in Libya. Because the Libyans have differences among themselves, and they need to be resolved for the sake of the country. But one thing I have no doubt of is that when those differences are resolved, they're going to get rid of ISIL from Libya, because they don't like foreigners, they're very patriotic in Libya, and when they unify, they will even more effectively operate against Libya. That's a good thing. You don't see that everywhere. But that level of determination -- it's very important to get the various parties together, too. That's a very complicated thing to do, but I just wanted to mention that because that needs to be said alongside what is the prospect of the final elimination of ISIL in Sirte. Q: Thank you. 21.02.23, 14:13