Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States, in the midst of a military campaign, has not sought to stop suspected operatives from traveling to and from strongholds of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant strongholds.

The administration of President Barack Obama has acknowledged that the government has not prevented any of the at least 100 suspected ISIL operatives from traveling. The State Department said it has not canceled the passports of those Americans recruited to join ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

“To my knowledge, the State Department has not cancelled any passports,” State Department senior adviser Robert Bradtke said on Dec. 2.

Bradtke, who works for the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, acknowledged that Secretary of State John Kerry was empowered to revoke the passports of Americans. But he said Kerry and the administration did not want to interfere with the freedom of travel.

“We would only do it also in consultations with law enforcement authorities,” Bradtke told a Foreign Affairs subcommittee. “And we have not yet had any requests from law enforcement authorities to cancel the passports of ISIS [ISIL] or foreign fighters. So again, we have the authority; it is one tool; we do have other tools to use as well in this regard.”

Another administration official did not rule out stopping alleged American recruits from flying to ISIL strongholds. But the official did not cite such an example.

“Congressman, if we have indications that someone on the no-fly list is trying to fly back to the United States, we would deny them boarding,” Deputy Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Thomas Warrick said. “If someone shows up in the United States and there’s indications that that person has been a foreign fighter in Syria, it would be referred to the FBI, and then it would be a matter for law enforcement.”

Warrick said more than 100 Americans were fighting with ISIL in Iraq and Syria. He said some of those fighters were arrested when they returned to the United States.

“The no-fly list obviously doesn’t apply to other modes of transportation,” Warrick said. “However, I can assure you that there are equal or equivalent measures in place so that somebody on the no-fly list is almost certainly not going to be allowed entry into the United States, if they come by cruise ship or if they fly to Canada, for example…and they were to try, let’s say, to come across the U.S.-Canadian border.”

  U.S. has not canceled passports of known Americans fighting for ISIL, WorldTribune.com