The Islamic State's Ideology Lives On

Michael P. Dempsey, Business Insider/Foreign Policy: The caliphate may be destroyed, but ISIS isn't defeated

* ISIS no longer controls any major population center in Iraq or Syria.
* While the much-dreamed-about caliphate may be dead, the resilient and adaptive group almost certainly will not go quietly into the night.
* Rather, it will work doggedly in the coming months to keep its brand alive, likely through a combination of actions.

The fall of the town of Abu Kamal in Syria and recent victories by Iraqi security forces in Qaim and Rawa in Iraq mark the collapse of the Islamic State caliphate. With the loss of these towns located along the Iraq-Syria border, the terrorist group no longer controls any major population center in either country.

This represents quite a reversal for the Islamic State from its heady days of only three years ago, when it controlled vast swaths of territory, routinely extorted taxes from local businesses, exploited the region’s natural resources (especially oil), and governed a large percentage of the population of both countries. Those days are thankfully done — at least for now — and that’s a development worth celebrating.

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WNU Editor:  I do not see the Islamic State's caliphate returning in Syria and Iraq for a long time. They have been defeated, and it will probably function as a low level insurgency for the foreseeable future. As for other parts of the world who have embraced this version of radical Islam .... the battle will continue.