2024 Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris claimed, “There is not one member of the military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world for the first time this century.”
Verdict: False
While the United States is not engaged in large-scale conflicts on a scale of the Afghanistan War, thousands of American troops are currently serving in combat zones across the Middle East. U.S. forces have also constantly bombarded the Houthis.
Fact Check:
This claim is misleading. While the U.S. is no longer engaged in a large war such as the Afghanistan War, having withdrawn in August 2021, it has troops across the Middle East and other countries, mostly in counter-terrorism roles, according to a December 2023 White House War Powers Act report.
Check Your Fact previously reported that ” The U.S. launched Operation Prosperity Guardian in December 2023 in response to missile and drone attacks from the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, against commercial shipping, according to the Pentagon.”
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) also reported on Sept. 10 that its forces have destroyed five Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and two missile systems in Yemen.
Sept 10 U.S. Central Command Update
In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed five Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles and two missile systems in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
It was determined these systems… pic.twitter.com/yS4H5gAvKS
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 11, 2024
CENTCOM also announced that it killed 15 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists in a raid conducted with Iraqi Security Forces on August 31.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a partnered raid in Western Iraq in the early hours of Aug. 29, resulting in the death of 15 ISIS operatives. The ISIS element was armed with numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive “suicide” belts. There… pic.twitter.com/fCOFyxtke1
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 31, 2024
And CENTCOM stated Sept. 2 that it captured an ISIS leader with the help of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria.
CENTCOM Forces Partner with Syrian Democratic Forces to Capture ISIS Leader and Assist in Operation to Recapture Escaped ISIS Fighters
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, partnered with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), captured an ISIS leader, who was assessed as helping ISIS… pic.twitter.com/Pdd2MzXI9Q
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 2, 2024
A defense officially previously told Check Your Fact that “U.S. military service members around the globe work every day to deter conflict and protect our nation.”
“And that can sometimes entail operating in dangerous and hostile environments. So, while we do have forces serving in harm’s way, we are not a nation at war,” the defense official said.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon during its operations against the Houthis, according to Navy Times. The strike group, alongside other U.S. Navy warships, fired $1.16 billion worth of munitions against the Houthis during its deployment, according to Business Insider.
The U.S. helped Israel shoot down hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles on April 13, according to The Associated Press. (RELATED: No, Trump Did Not Say Bullet From Rally Shooting Took His ‘Entire Ear Off’)
Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin said that the claim is “technically true but misleading” and cited the deaths of three American soldiers who died in Jordan from a drone attack.
Harris: “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world for the first time this century.”
Technically true but misleading because thousands of U.S. troops are in harms way and hundreds…
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) September 11, 2024
“Technically true but misleading because thousands of U.S. troops are in harms way and hundreds have been under attack this year alone. Three died in January. I guess they weren’t in a ‘war zone’? Seems irrelevant,” Rogin said.
Check Your Fact previously fact-checked a claim from President Joe Biden saying that the U.S. was not at war. Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at Crisis Group, told Check Your Fact that “since October the US has engaged in new and renewed conflicts in the Middle East as a result of the Gaza war.”