The defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is only a short-term victory
Photo source The Islamic State, commonly known as ISIS or ISIL has unofficially been ousted from many strongholds in Iraq and Syria. The terrorist organization, a once off branch of Al Qaeda, was able to swiftly rise to power in 2014. Three years prior to this, the United States officially backed out of the War effort in Iraq. That same year, President Assad of Syria propelled a gruesome civil war in his country that is just as ubiquitous now as it was in 2011. Terrorist organizations rise to power and thrive in unstable regions of the world. In doing so, groups like ISIS are able to take advantage and easily overwhelm underfunded and exhausted federal forces. In 2013, ISIS was able to capitalize on the instability in Syria and capture the city of Raqqa from rebel forces. Raqqa, the Islamic States’ Syrian capital was liberated from ISIS control in October of 2017 by counterterrorism forces. In 2014, the Islamic State began its campaign to establish a caliphate in Iraq.