Who Won The War Against The Islamic State?

A Kurdish fighter keeps guard while overlooking positions of Islamic State militants near Mosul in northern Iraq August 19, 2014. Youssef Boudlal/Reuters

Newsweek: U.S. Military and Russia Clash Over Donald Trump’s Boast of Victory Over ISIS

Russia’s Defense Ministry has criticized the U.S. over what it claims are mixed messages about its fight against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Syria.

The Russian military was irked by President Donald Trump’s taking credit for defeating the Islamist group, while the military has maintained forces on the ground in Syria. Moscow’s blunt response came after Trump saluted U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis for doing a “fantastic job” in fighting the group last week and once again praised the U.S. “campaign to obliterate ISIS” during a defense budget signing on Tuesday. “As you know, we’ve won in Syria, we’ve won in Iraq. But they spread to other areas, and we’re getting them as fast as they spread,” Trump said.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has attempted to portray Moscow as the winner in the Syrian war, and his defense ministry took offense at Trump’s words, accusing U.S. defense chiefs of lying. Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, said the U.S. should either pull out of Syria or stop letting President Donald Trump claim victory.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: These arguments never end. Who won the Second World War? Roosevelt? Stalin? Churchill? Soviet General Zhukov in Europe ... or is it General Eisenhower? US General MacArthur in Asia? And now who won the war against ISIS. Trump? Putin? Obama? Or is it this Iraqi General .... Bergen: It wasn't Trump but this general's elite soldiers who defeated ISIS (CNN).