ISIS is Losing

It can be frustrating to watch as ISIS continues to kill thousands of Syrians, force women into sex slavery, and orchestrate attacks in other countries such as Turkey, Belgium, Iraq, Indonesia, France, and others. Recently, US presidential candidates have promised extreme measures such as carpet bombing ISIS in order to attract voters who believe that Obama is not doing enough to stop them. This idea has been condemned by top US generals and other experts, but what should be done? Well, there is some good news: what we're doing now is working, and ISIS is losing.As Mark Sappenfield of the Christian Science Monitor recently reported in a daily news briefing: "[ISIS] has lost 40 percent of its territory during the past year. Revenue from its oil industry has dropped by half. The estimated $700 million in cash it seized during its expansion across Iraq is now mostly gone.""Attacks such as the one in Brussels are top-of-mind, and it is only appropriate to take the threats emanating from Islamic State networks with great diligence. But if the goal is to “destroy the Islamic State” – as politicians repeatedly vow – then it should also be acknowledged that the world is making appreciable progress. “For the first time, there’s an optimistic tone,” Daniel Glaser, assistant secretary for terrorist financing at the Treasury Department, told The Washington Post. The reality is that there is going to be no Western D-Day against the Islamic State. The pressure the West can put on the Islamic State is either limited or indirect. But it can be constant and coordinated. And it is showing some signs of working."In addition, ISIS manpower is down to its lowest levels since 2014, as reported the Independent. And not only that, but Muslim countries are leading the fight against them."Every time we have gone after one of their defended positions in the last 10 months, we have defeated them," Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said. "Right now it sucks to be ISIL."As we've said before, terrorism is the weapon of the weak, and the weakness of ISIS is now being seen. But we must remember that how we defeat ISIS is just as important as defeating them, if we don't want something new to spring back up in its place. That is why it's important to understand what's behind ISIS. When we can accurately assess the problem, we can more effectively work to solve it and prevent future terrorism.ISIS map credit: http://isis.liveuamap.com