Secretary of Defense Ash Carter answers questions during a Worldwide Troop Talk at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2016. (DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley)

(CNSNews.com) – Once ISIL is defeated, the U.S. will "work with the Iraqi government” to determine if U.S. troops can stay there to prevent “radicals” from returning, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told troops on Wednesday.

“It’s a big world out there, and we’re going to be there. And you bet,” he told a staff sergeant stationed in Iraq – “we’ll be in your region even after ISIL is defeated, and ISIL will be defeated.”

The staff sergeant asked Carter, “Once ISIL is defeated in Iraq, will there be an enduring presence for the U.S., much like there is in Korea?”

“Well, it's a good question,” Carter responded. “But first of all, let me -- I like the way you think -- once ISIL is defeated. Damn right. ISIL is going to be defeated. That -- that part is right. And then you're right, what comes after that?”

Carter said it “can be frustrating” to work with the Iraqi forces, but that’s the “only way to make victory stick,” he added. “We can’t run these places. We can’t govern these countries.

“So once we defeat ISIL, it’s important that the people who live there regain their countries and -- and govern them in a way that doesn't let radicals get back in. So that is why we're taking the approach to the war that you are right now, and very successfully.

“And, of course, where we position forces or station forces is a decision that the governments of those countries makes. And that will be something down the road that we work with the Iraqi government with.

“What's obvious and very clear is we're going to be in that region for a long time, because we're going to be worldwide (inaudible). We're in the Asia Pacific. We're in Europe. We're going to be in the Middle East, because ISIL is a big problem, but one we're going to take care of through defeat.”

Carter said there are “other issues in the Middle East,” including Iran. He pointed to “the possibility of Russian aggression” in Europe; and tensions in the Asia-Pacific, where China is building military bases on man-made islands.

“And so it's a big world out there, and we're going to be there. And you bet, we'll be in your region even after ISIL is defeated, and ISIL will be defeated.”