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Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/destroy-isis-as-state/480531/
Leave Root Causes Aside - Destroy the ISIS "State"
(Atlantic) James Jeffrey - If the mission is properly defined, America can destroy ISIS, and must. It is possible to defeat ISIS as a "state" and as a military-economic "power" without having to solve the Syrian and Iraqi crises or eliminate ISIS as a set of terrorist cells or source of ideological inspiration. Local forces with minimal U.S. indirect support have already made progress in some areas. ISIS has fewer foot soldiers than at any time since 2014, and has problems paying its bills. A much more robust support package of advisers, artillery, and attack helicopters, more special-operations raids, and even more liberal rules of engagement for air strikes could generate more rapid victories. Even a messy post-ISIS situation is better than containment, given that course's dangers and costs. Until ISIS is destroyed as a state, it can still launch horrific terrorist attacks. The writer is a distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Iraq.