The second largest city in Iraq – Mosul – may soon be in government hands. In very slow fashion the Iraqi security forces are clearing ISIS from major cities. Hopefully, the government forces will clear them from the countryside as well. What happens in a post Islamic State era?
One observer, Eric Olson, has a few thoughts about the future ‘reconstruction phase’ after the defeat of the Islamic State. He believes that 1) security must be established before serious reconstruction is started, 2) we need to bring in the real experts (USAID, etc.) to do the reconstruction, and 3) we have to be aware of the disastrous effects of corruption associated with reconstruction projects.
Has the United States learned from its failed reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan? Read more in “When the Islamic State is gone, What comes next?”, by Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, War on the Rocks, August 9, 2016.
