After years of a directionless and inept foreign policy, America seems somewhat back on track.
Thanks to a more level-headed approach to the Middle East by President Trump, America's
allies have scored several victories against ISIS.
Today, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Mosul "liberated" from the tyranny
of ISIS.
The city, which was ISIS's capital in Iraq, has fallen after nearly nine months of intense
ground and aerial combat, via ABC.
No official body counts have been released as of yet, although Baghdad claims that over
8,000 ISIS fighters were killed during the battle.
What is known for sure is that the battle destroyed most of the city and forced millions
to flee.
After retaking Mosul, Iraqi forces, their militia allies, and Coalition planes have
already undertaken an offensive to retake the northern city of Tal Afar.
This city is ISIS's last stronghold in northern Iraq and its last major command post in the
entire country, via AMN.
In Syria, ISIS's misfortunes continue to pile up.
In the southeast, fighting between Syrian Arab Army units and rebel forces have effectively
cut off ISIS's easy access between Syria and Iraq.
This access will only become more difficult, for the Russian-backed SAA has gained the
most ground in the region, via AMN.
To the north in ISIS's overall capital of Raqqa, the Syrian Democratic Forces–a coalition
of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen militia units supported by the United States–have encircled
and besieged the city.
Despite ISIS counterattacks in the Old City, it is only a matter of time before the remaining
fighters are forced to give up the city to the SDF, via Independent.
While ISIS's reach remains sizable, the jihadist group has been consistently losing
cities and territory in Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.
However, even if the group loses all of its cities, it can still transition to a more
traditional terrorist network.
Indeed, many analysts believe that ISIS's strongholds in Libya, Somalia, and Afghanistan
provide enough room for training camps that could deploy terrorists to Europe and North
America.
Needless to say, ISIS will always be a threat unless it is completely killed off.
Not only should a large anti-ISIS coalition busy themselves with eliminating every single
member of the group, but it should also set about tackling the virulent jihadist ideology
that is much larger than ISIS.
This war has no end in sight, but at least ISIS looks to be losing.
How happy are YOU that ISIS has lost Mosul?
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