Benjamin Bahney and Patrick B. Johnston, Foreign Affairs: ISIS Could Rise Again
What Its Last Resurrection Says About Its Future in Iraq and Syria
“The dream of a liberation is now a reality,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaimed last week, when his forces drove ISIS from a few final strongholds. Abadi’s declaration of victory did not seem unwarranted. After three years, Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, backed by an 80-country U.S.-led coalition, have reclaimed all of the territory ISIS once controlled in Iraq and the key cities it held in Syria. The Islamic State no longer has much of a claim to calling itself a state at all.
But the victory is incomplete—and not just when it comes to the challenges of ISIS-inspired lone-wolf attacks, foreign fighters returning home from Iraq and Syria, and the persistence of ISIS franchises elsewhere. While such concerns are real, a more dangerous scenario also deserves some attention: ISIS could resurrect its caliphate where it was born, in Iraq and Syria. It has been planning for such a resurrection since at least 2016, and quietly preparing since well before losing Raqqa in October.
Most ominously, ISIS has a tried-and-true playbook for bringing itself back from near death. Just a few years ago, it managed to resurrect itself after apparent defeat. And the history of that resurrection should serve as a warning of what may be coming now.
Read more ....
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 16, 2017
The Syrian regime has made many gains this year, but it is too early to tell whether it's game over -- Hassan Hassan, The National
Russia’s military victory masks diplomatic impotence in Syria -- Julien Barnes-Dace, European Council On Foreign Affairs
4 Things the World Learned from North Korea in 2017 -- Robert E Kelly, National Interest
War With North Korea Appears More Imminent Than Ever -- Doug Bandow, American Conservative
Why China’s Internet Censorship Model Will Prevail Over Russia’s -- Valentin Weber, Council On Foreign Relations
Pakistan’s economic fortunes now in the hands of the IMF -- F.M. Shakil, Asia Times
Poland is the Saudi Arabia of NATO -- Washington Post
Europe's Leaders Watch Populism Rise -- Anne-Sylvaine Chassany & Guy Chazan, Financial Times
Vladimir Putin takes spotlight as Eurasia connector -- Pepe Escobar, Asia Times
Why Russia Punches Above Its Weight in Global Affairs -- Steven Metz, WPR
How Putin's proxies helped funnel millions into GOP campaigns -- Ruth May, Dallas News
Change Is Coming to Cuba -- Scott B. MacDonald, National Interest
Trump’s Security Strategy and the New Nuclear World -- Evan Moore, RCD
What Will ‘Actually Solve’ Terrorism Problem? -- James Kitfield, Breaking Defense
How the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers -- James L. Greenfield, Salon
1 comment:
So many of the posts of late are basically guess this and guess that, ie
Could this happen? Might the U.S. win a war against A,B,C...Can China etc...Will Russia.... In sum: "perhaps," "yes," "maybe"....that about covers the hypotheticals.
Post a Comment