Great news but with an asterix: "... they're almost defeated* (*-In Iraq)"
They're still going strong in Syria to my knowledge. Admittedly I haven't followed this too closely.
They represent Islam reverting back to a more malignant form (i.e.: when it was first spreading). Religions are mind-viruses & Islam is perhaps the more virulent and potentially dangerous.
In Syria, the SDF have been making huge gains against ISIS in Raqqa.
Assad + Hezbollah have driven them back into the East. Russian Airstrikes have also done significant damage between late last year and present, particularly with the successful killing of the ISIS leader at around the same time Mosul was taken by the anti-ISIS coalition.
There's still work to do against the state, but they're not popular, and their power has been significantly reduced.
ISIS gone will be a great thing, but Syria won't see peace any time soon. There are still other militarized Sunni rebel groups that will continuing to fight against Assad and other Shias - and it is uncertain what talks the SDF will have with Assad, considering they're a Leninist force (ironically, backed by certain first world western powers). There are almost no moderate forces left in Syria. What will it take to get them to stop fighting? There needs to be talks, but there has been a primarily Republican and Conservative UK forces push to arm militants to destroy the Assad regime, which is, frankly, fucking stupid if your goal is stability and peace - you'd almost think they wanted destabilization in Syria and force the current refugee crisis. Arming militants is fuel on the fire; and it only ends with the outright destruction of one side or the other.
That's good to hear. I haven't been following this too closely as I don't have the mental bandwidth for tragedies I can't fix in any way.
What do you think is the best approach to Syria? I doesn't sound like you're in favor of supporting the rebels. Support Assad and try to negotiate a peace with the rebels?
I am definitely not the person to ask about how to solve Syria, it is such a complex mess right now.
What I think should happen is peace. Easier said than done.
To name a few of the threads going on in this war (and certainly far from all)
1. With the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iran had free reign to supply the Shia-based Hezbollah, which is the Lebanese defense force along the Israeli-Lebanese border - although Hezbollah is also an institution which provides healthcare, foods, and services to Palestinian refugees. The point is Israel doesn't like these guys, they're at war with them. It's actually in Israel's interest to have ISIS as an existing state in the middle of this, because it means the flow of supplies from Iran is disrupted. Essentially, with a Shia-friendly Iraq, Shia governed Syria under Assad, there is a clear path from Iran to Lebanon.
2. Saudi Arabia vs. Iran proxy war. These two nations are in a religious war against each other - Saudi Arabians (not all, but prominent figures definitely) back Sunni militant groups including ISIS and Al-Qaeda, while Iran backs the Assad government - which is the Shia based government. Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen is another part of this wider Saudi-Iranian conflict.
3. The SDF - the faction which most Syrian Kurds have joined, is a primarily Leninist state. This group would likely not be friendly to Iranian supply lines as Iran is aligned with Assad. Essentially, this force is the one that the Israeli hardliners would likely want to win, but it would not mean peace unless they made an agreement with Iran. Also, many in Turkey are not a fan of having a Leninist state on their border. Just as a note, SDF is not a Kurdish state, it is actually mainly Arab, it just happens that the majority of Kurds have joined.
Here's an interesting video about the SDF I was watching earlier this afternoon, this is the war in Raqqa, which is the last major stronghold of ISIS (called Daesh and IS in this video):
Raqqa has fallen. ISIS, as a State, has effectively collapsed. Only a few scattered villages and scattered criminals.
The interview ends with the pointing out that while ISIS is gone, there is still a massive conflict between extremist Sunni rebels in Syria, as well as other groups with political interests in the region. Also the note that there is no longer a coherent aim for Syria as a nation anymore; even if peace were to occur now, the rebuilding costs are estimated at 160-180 billion US dollars; and the nation is broke.
That sounds like a small amount of money (it's about 2-3 months military expense for the US), and small compared the ~2T to fix East Germany (which is still a mess). It'll be an adequate nation; hopefully well enough for people to return home to.
Back to Iraq...
Another video of interest. Abu Azrael "The Angel of Death" a living and still active war hero financed by Iran to fight ISIS with his militant group Kata'ib al-Imam Ali.
War far from over as SDF and Syria relations deteriorate with the fall of ISIS - I think the interesting part of this is that this time around the US is supporting the Leninist Communist State while the Russians are supporting the Corporatists:
