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The war against Islamic State: gaining more foes than friends

THERE is no cause yet for cheer, but for the first time since last summer’s blitzkrieg by Islamic State (IS) the news from Iraq and Syria has been less than uniformly grim. General Martin Dempsey, America’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, on November 15th told American troops in Iraq that the battle is […]

The Economist writes:

THERE is no cause yet for cheer, but for the first time since last summer’s blitzkrieg by Islamic State (IS) the news from Iraq and Syria has been less than uniformly grim. General Martin Dempsey, America’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, on November 15th told American troops in Iraq that the battle is “starting to turn”— though it will take time to defeat the jihadists. The UN’s envoy for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, assured the Security Council that the strategy of enlisting local forces was showing signs of progress. “We’re not looking at the collapse of the Iraqi state,” he said. “We’ve turned the tide.”

After months of setbacks the wobbly American-led coalition battling IS has halted the group’s momentum and begun to seize the initiative. Relentless air attacks have depleted the group’s arsenals, reduced its mobility and reportedly killed several of its senior commanders. The coalition’s campaign has grown in scope and sophistication. A single raid on November 19th, targeting a complex of IS fortifications north-west of Kirkuk, involved aircraft from seven countries.