Thanks to Obama, America is two steps behind Iran in Middle East The fall of Raqqa, capital of the Islamic State’s “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq, is unarguably an important politico-military milestone, albeit long overdue. Nonetheless, ISIS, a metastasized version of al Qaeda, remains a global terrorist threat, and prospects for Middle Eastern stability and security for America’s interests and allies are still remote. Even as ISIS was losing Raqqa, Iraqi regular armed forces and Shiite militia were attacking Kirkuk and its environs, held by Iraqi Kurds since June 2014, when ISIS burst out of Syria and seized large swathes of territory from Baghdad’s collapsing army. The battles for Raqqa and Kirkuk reveal much about the mistakes in U.S. strategy for defeating ISIS, and the consequences of not supporting Iraqi Kurdish efforts to establish an independent state. The two battles are closely related, proving again the historical reality that the Middle East is replete with mult...

Video: Defeating ISIS isn’t enough, Trump urgently needs a new Syria policy 10/23/2017 5:32:21 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print US-backed forces in Syria say they seized Raqqa from ISIS Fox News, October 22, 2017  - In Syria, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions of people remain displaced and countless souls are physically and psychologically scarred. Throngs of children are without families or homes, entire villages and farming communities no longer exist, and cities are in ruins. Fallout from the seismic Syrian civil war and upheaval besets the Middle East. Aggressor regimes and extremist groups have capitalized upon the chaos and despair. It will be very difficult at this late juncture to get America’s Syria policy right, but the moral and strategic stakes are too high to keep getting it wrong. Instead of slouching toward a fatally flawed paradigm, the Trump administration should conduct an urgent policy review, s...

Defeating ISIS isn’t enough: Trump urgently needs a new Syria policy By Anne Pierce Ph.D., Fox News In Syria, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions of people remain displaced and countless souls are physically and psychologically scarred. Throngs of children are without families or homes, entire villages and farming communities no longer exist, and cities are in ruins.  Fallout from the seismic Syrian civil war and upheaval besets the Middle East. Aggressor regimes and extremist groups have capitalized upon the chaos and despair.  It will be very difficult at this late juncture to get America’s Syria policy right, but the moral and strategic stakes are too high to keep getting it wrong. Instead of slouching toward a fatally flawed paradigm, the Trump administration should conduct an urgent policy review, such as it did for North Korea and Iran.  U.S. efforts in Syria are hampered by a narrow focus on defeating ISIS and corollary downplay...

Trump shouldn’t repeat Obama’s mistake in Iraq and Syria Members of the U.S.-backed Syrian forces that captured Raqqa take a selfie Oct. 20 at the stadium where Islamic State fighters made their last stand in the city. (Asmaa Waguih/AP) THE FINAL capture of the Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa  this week by U.S.-backed Syrian forces brings the would-be caliphate to the brink of extinction: It has  lost 87 percent  of the territory it once controlled in Iraq and Syria and probably will soon be driven from the rest. But the terrorists’ defeat raises complex challenges for the United States in Iraq and Syria, where Iran and Russia are  entrenching their forces  and consolidating influence at the expense of U.S. allies. If there is a countering American strategy, it isn’t evident. While gratuitously  undermining  the Iran nuclear agreement, President Trump promised that the United States would resist Iranian aggression in the region. Yet the...

Trump: Raqqa fall 'critical breakthrough', end of Islamic State in sight 10/21/2017 9:52:00 PM Donald Trump says end of Islamic State is in sight WASHINGTON (Reuters) OCT. 21, 2017  - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed the defeat of Islamic State fighters in their self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa as “a critical breakthrough” in a worldwide campaign against the militants. On Friday, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) formally announced Raqqa’s liberation from Islamic State after four months of battles and said the city would be part of a decentralized federal Syria. “Together, our forces have liberated the entire city from ISIS control,” Trump said in a statement.      Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters ride atop military vehicles as they celebrate victory in Raqqa, Syria, October 17, 2017 “The defeat of ISIS in Raqqa represents a critical breakthrough in our worldwide campaign to defeat...