ISIS Haidar Hamdani/Getty Images

Why ISIS Persists

The Islamic State is neither invincible nor especially difficult to defeat. The reason that it hasn't happened is that the US and its allies – including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel – have been focusing instead on toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

NEW YORK – Deadly terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Dhaka, and Baghdad demonstrate the murderous reach of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. The longer ISIS maintains its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, the longer its terrorist network will create such carnage. Yet ISIS is not especially difficult to defeat. The problem is that none of the states involved in Iraq and Syria, including the United States and its allies, has so far treated ISIS as its primary foe. It’s time they do.

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