The fall of Islamic State

what will be the seismic shifts in the year ahead the appearance of this outfit convulsed world politics for several years struck fear into the hearts of people all around the world Islamic state is the most vicious and murderous jihadist regime the world has ever seen in 2017 it will be smashed the defeat of Islamic state will be one of the most significant things to happen and 2017 this was the biggest boldest attempt by jihadism to set up an alternative form of government to defy not as the West to defy the whole world order to defy lines on maps to create a completely religious based and extremely violent government tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL forces from some 60 countries have taken the fight to Islamic state it now clings to two key strongholds one in Iraq and one in Syria Islamic state has been driven out of almost all the territory they used to hold in Iraq at one point they had a third of the country they are down just holding a part of Mosul in Syria they have been driven out of almost everything they held an attention will shift to Raqqa the Islamic state capital in Syria quite swiftly after that controlling territory is what defines Islamic state recruits have been drawn from all over the world to fight for its declared domain the objectives were to remain and expand and to remain really as the important thing here to be more than just a terrorist outfit to be an alternative government if that goes then whole way of looking at the world goes with it in October 2016 an iraqi-led force launched a concerted effort to reclaim Mosul that's meeting some stiff resistance as it gets closer into the city itself but they are one-by-one taking out his state leaders the city is set to fall within months with the Syrian stronghold of Raqqa and a few remaining pockets likely to follow shortly after but many of the fighters themselves may outlast Islamic state the terrible danger is that in 2017 the people that fought with Islamic state will feel just as discontented as ever they did and will return not to holding territory but to committing acts of horrible violence against the people that are trying to rebuild the country for the West - it may prove a Pyrrhic victory the dangers that we saw coming to cause great bloodshed in 2016 on the streets of Europe will be even greater in 2017 because there is no Islamic state existing as a state for people to go and fight for so they may go and fight as well the fall of Islamic state will not mean the end of terrorism won't mean that peaceful calm that atrocities will cease that jihadism as an idea will be defeated however something very significant will have happened I think a philosophy or psychology that says that you can create a wholly new geographical entity call of the state transcend the existing established order of borders that idea will have been smashed to see that disappear that's that's really fantastic news you

Channel: The Economist

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Keywords: The Economist, Economist, Economist Films, Economist Videos, Politics, News, short-documentary, islamic state, terrorism, iraq, fall of Islamic state, isis, fall of isis, fall of mosul, islamic state of iraq and syria, syria, documentary, documentaries, politics, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed, us operation, trump

Id: ryOumk7jk70

Length: 3min 43sec (223 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 30 2016