What the United States might have learned after nearly a year at war with ISIS
My mateys aboard New America’s Future of War team offered up some thoughts about what we’ve learned after fighting ISIS for nearly a year.
My mateys aboard New America’s Future of War team offered up some thoughts about what we’ve learned after fighting ISIS for nearly a year. Here are some selections:
My mateys aboard New America’s Future of War team offered up some thoughts about what we’ve learned after fighting ISIS for nearly a year. Here are some selections:
Be careful of removing Leviathan: “The rise of ISIS is a useful reminder of both Hobbes and Machiavelli, The only thing worse than a dictator-Leviathan (Saddam) is anarchy and civil war which we precipitated in Iraq with our 2003 invasion.” —Peter Bergen
We’ve seen ISIS before: “ Most modern states were born in blood, and denying ISIS’s continuities with historical examples of state formation leads us to exaggerate the threat it poses, misunderstand its ability to attract adherents from around the globe, and develop anti-ISIS tactics that are more likely to backfire than succeed.” —Rosa Brooks
Do we know what time it is?: “We are continuing to address 21st century problems with 20th century solutions.” —Christopher Fussell
Fasten your seatbelts: “A key lesson is that other groups are likely to learn from what ISIS is doing in this regard and the U.S. and others should be prepared.” —Paulo Shakarian
They are all provocative.
Wikimedia Commons
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.