US plan to ‘annihilate IS’ raises questions over civilian toll, larger strategy
The US will more aggressively go after the "Islamic State" (IS) group by encircling and killing as many of its members as possible as part of a shift in military tactics designed to prevent the escape of foreign fighters. The "annihilation campaign" announced by the Pentagon on Friday, after President Donald Trump approved parts of a […]Chase Winter writes for Deutsche Welle:
The US will more aggressively go after the "Islamic State" (IS) group by encircling and killing as many of its members as possible as part of a shift in military tactics designed to prevent the escape of foreign fighters.
The "annihilation campaign" announced by the Pentagon on Friday, after President Donald Trump approved parts of a review of US military strategy, marks a shift in previous tactics that had allowed IS fighters to escape strongholds.
The tactical change raises the specter that the United States will risk civilian casualties and further large-scale displacement in pursuit of quick military gains. And as the anti-IS campaign progresses, larger US strategy risks heightening ethnic, sectarian and societal cleavages in the long term that could strengthen extremists, experts said.
