Richard Engel: Obama Strategy ‘Certainly Not Slowing Down’ ISIS

Richard Engel: ISIS Strategy ‘Certainly Not Slowing Down the Group’ (National Review Online)

“There are enormous contradictions in the U.S. strategy [to fight the Islamic State] that are becoming more apparent every day,” said NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel on Meet the Press.

Chief among their miscalculations is the United States’ not treating the fight as a singular conflict, but “artificially putting this border” between Iraq and Syria and treating it as two separate campaigns. In part, the Islamic State “does not seem to be degraded at all” by airstrikes, but has just shifted its aims towards other parts of the region.

“[Airstrikes are] having an impact in that it has forced ISIS to change its targets somewhat, but it is certainly not slowing down the group,” he said.