October 27, 2016

Dear Friends,

With the assault on Mosul already underway, and another on Raqqa reportedly in the offing, the fight to liberate territory taken by the Islamic State and to weaken the group more generally is steadily progressing. However, there is little cause to celebrate just yet. In his most recent piece “Putting the Battle for Mosul in Context,” Robert A. Fox Fellow Samuel Helfont argues that “the crisis in Iraq is not going to disappear after the liberation of Mosul for as long as the political and military conflicts in Iraq remain unresolved, Iraq will continue to be a source for terrorism and mass migration.”

Here are just of few other suggested articles by FPRI on Iraq, Syria, ISIS, and the like:

• Al Qaeda’s ruthless pragmatism makes it more dangerous than Islamic State · Barak Mendelsohn, Colin P. Clarke · October 2016
   
• Who is winning the Syrian digital war? · Benedetta Berti · October 2016
   
• The Chemistry of Syrian Lies and U.S. Credulity Revealed · Adam Garfinkle · October 2016
   
• Kanan Makiya and the Rejection of Victimhood · Samuel Helfont · September 2016
   
• Two-and-a-Half Years After ISIS’s Rise: Global Jihad Spreads And Morphs· Clint Watts · September 2016
   
• How Does the Syrian Civil War End for Hezbollah? · Benedetta Berti · September 2016
   
• It’s been 15 years since 9/11. How has al-Qaeda changed? · Barak Mendelsohn · September 2016
   
• What Happened to the “Resistance Axis”? · Tally Helfont · August 2016
   
• ISIS’ Lone-Wolf Strategy · Barak Mendelsohn · August 2016
   
• What Should We Make Of The Islamic State’s Ramadan Wave Of Violence?  · Clint Watts · July 2016
   
• How To Break Up With Al Qaeda & Date ISIS· Clint Watts · June 2016 

Best Wishes,


Tally Helfont
Director, FPRI Program on the Middle East

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