Ending Endless Wars and the Islamic State
Michael J. Mooney
Last week, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in a speech at the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference in Washington, DC, emphatically declared that the Islamic State (or ISIS) caliphate had “crumbled†and that “ISIS is defeatedâ€. This statement garnered much attention in the press due to the awkwardly tone-deaf nature of his pronouncement. Only hours before his speech, ISIS had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack in Manbij, Syria which killed four Americans, making his claim ring hollow. Later that day the Vice President issued a statement denouncing the attack, removing any mention of the defeat of ISIS to more precisely restate that the caliphate had been “crushed†and its capabilities “devastatedâ€.
What is just as telling, but lost in the rush to point out Mr. Pence’s ill-timed declaration of defeat, are the comments made by the Vice President immediately following his boast of victory, which bear examination and scrutiny as well.
The Vice President first spoke of the U.S. remaining engaged in the region and “staying in the fight†against ISIS to “ensure that ISIS does not rear its ugly head again†and “to protect the gains that our soldiers and coalition partners have secured.†This is a strong and (very necessary) statement meant to reassure U.S. allies of the Trump Administration’s commitment to combating the Islamic State.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/ending-endless-wars-and-islamic-state
