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NY Times columnist praises Trump for winning against ISIS, hits media for not giving credit
Ross Douthat, who previously endorsed Hillary Clinton, wrote that the Trump administration surprised him in foreign policy, namely in the war on ISIS that Trump has won.
“If you had told me in late 2016 that almost a year into the Trump era the caliphate would be all-but-beaten without something far worse happening in the Middle East, I would have been surprised and gratified,” Douthat wrote
Douthat wrote that Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq – which he calls “the defining foreign policy calamity of Barack Obama’s second term” – were effectively routed by Trump without the need of a massive ground troop invasion and without getting into a war with Russia or Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Douthat wrote that it is a “press failure” for succumbing to “the narrative of Trumpian disaster” and ignoring the story.
originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: TinfoilTP
There seems to be a lot more work to be done before we can say ISIS has been defeated or that any "war" has been won.
I also believe that it has been Russia themselves that had the biggest impact in ISIS and their efforts in Syria.
originally posted by: RogueWaterC1
And people wonder why there so many misguided people with hijacked good intentions in our country. They have been listening to propaganda their whole lives.
"The Islamic State is almost defeated, but a radical Islamist insurgency will remain in both Iraq and Syria as the fighters turn to traditional terrorism," Ayham Kamel, practice head of Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group, told CNBC on Thursday.
"However, losing the pillars of its state, ISIS no longer represents a strategic threat to the integrity of either Iraq or Syria. There's even a possibility of alliances with al-Qaeda in Syria (the Nusra Front) as these configurations are usually fluid," he said.
"The danger here is that (with) absent reconstruction aid, terrorism will remain a key challenge. The core challenge is that the world continues to focus on military tools to defeat a problem that transcends an armed challenge."
originally posted by: Painterz
Uhm, but the US hasn't defeated ISIS.
ISIS were defeated in Iraq by the Iraqi army with support from American and British forces.
ISIS were defeated in Syria by Syrian and Kurdish forces with Russian support.
And ISIS haven't really been 'defeated' anyway, they've just melted away into the population to wait for their next opportunity.
originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: nwtrucker
Well there you go. Your thread is useless because in a few months there will be a new bad guy for everyone to rant and rave about and we'll restart this song and dance for what is it... the fourth time now? Probably more than that actually.
originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: TinfoilTP
There seems to be a lot more work to be done before we can say ISIS has been defeated or that any "war" has been won.
I also believe that it has been Russia themselves that had the biggest impact in ISIS and their efforts in Syria.
originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: TinfoilTP
Uh... No. I don't think it was a victory on Trump's part. In fact I never actually agreed with the OP on that point. I JUST said this thread is useless. If you want to revel in shallow victories that don't amount to much in the long run, do you, but I"m more concerned with ACTUAL victories that make these problems truly go away. Not allow it to go into hiding only to resurface under a different name.
There IS hope.