Why Harris’ debate remarks about US military in combat zones is misleading

The first 2024 presidential election debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump touched on many issues, including U.S. military activity abroad.

ABC News moderators asked Harris whether she believed she bore any responsibility for the way the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. Thirteen U.S. service members were killed in an attack during the withdrawal.

Harris said she agreed with President Joe Biden’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

"Four presidents said they would, and Joe Biden did," Harris said. "And 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, first time this century."

When we contacted Harris’ presidential campaign for evidence to support this statement, a spokesperson referred us to the Defense Department.

A Defense Department spokesperson told PolitiFact that the U.S. is neither engaged in a war, nor has service members fighting in active war zones anywhere in the world.

"An aspect of military service includes serving in locations where hostile actions may occur," the Defense Department official said in a statement to PolitiFact. "Those locations are designated by executive order and/or the Secretary of Defense. However, it’s important to note that just because a service member is in one of these locations does not mean they are engaged in war."

But Harris’ inclusion of "combat zone" in that statement is misleading and experts said it significantly underplays the broader landscape of active duty military service abroad.

The Internal Revenue Service tracks combat zones for tax purposes. The term generally refers to "hostile areas where (the) military may serve, (including) actual combat areas, direct combat support areas and qualified hazardous duty areas," the IRS said on a webpage last reviewed and updated Aug. 19.

Citing the Defense Department, the IRS said that as of August, recognized combat zones included the Sinai Peninsula, and the Afghanistan, Kosovo and Arabian Peninsula areas.

Melanie Sisson, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, a think tank, said some of these combat zone designations, such as the one over Kosovo, are "holdovers" from previous U.S. military operations. But the combat zones do include areas in which U.S. service members are now deployed, she said.

PolitiFact asked the Defense Department for a list of places within the designated combat zones that U.S. military service members are serving in, but we did not receive a response before publication.

As of June, the nonpartisan think tank Council on Foreign Relations said the U.S. had several thousand service members stationed across multiple foreign countries and on ships at sea in the Middle East. Many of these countries are in the currently recognized combat zones listed on the IRS website.

Specifically, the Defense Department and news outlets have reported that there are about 2,500 U.S. service members in Iraq and about 900 in Syria, fighting against Islamic State militants. Additionally, thousands of U.S. service members have been deployed to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war started in October 2023.

There have been multiple instances this year in which U.S. service members have been killed or injured while serving abroad.

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In January, three U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed and at least 34 others were injured in a drone strike in Jordan. In February, two U.S. Navy SEALs drowned during an Iranian weapons seizure mission. In August, eight U.S. service members were wounded in a drone attack in Syria. That same month, another seven U.S. service members were injured in a raid targeting Islamic State militants.

"It is not accurate to suggest that U.S. service members are not, today, in harm’s way," Sisson said.

Peter Feaver, a Duke University political science professor who specializes in civil-military relations, echoed Sisson, saying many U.S. military personnel are engaged in operations "that put them at serious risk of attack by adversaries."

"For the men and women serving on these and many other missions, not to mention their families and loved ones, this feels very much like serving in a combat zone," Feaver said.

Harris said, "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."

The Defense Department confirmed the U.S. military is not engaged in a war. But Harris’ statement ignores critical facts.

There are thousands of U.S. military service members stationed in areas that are considered combat zones. These members face hostilities from foreign adversaries and some have been killed or injured during military operations.

We rate Harris’ statement Mostly False.

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