Is ISIS on the decline? The Atlantic

The Atlantic/Reuters

ISIS has lost its greatest weapon. Momentum. The Atlantic. For awhile ISIS seemed poised to take Baghdad itself, but since the capture of Hit in October, they have not captured any new territory. Bogged down in Kobane, What is the reason for the lack of success? First, ISIS betrayed its Sunni and Baathist allies who were so important to their summer offensive. Second, the Genocide of the Yazidi people gained ISIS dozens of new enemies, including the Peshmerga Kurdish fighters and The United States. Third, their brutality has increased local resistance, leading to uprisings. Fourth, they are running out of money. U.S. airstrikes have had a major impact on their bottom line. Fifth, it has little or no manufacturing capabilities and are largely reliant on captured weapons and vehicles. 

My Comment:

A fairly good summary of what I have been saying for awhile now. ISIS is on the decline. Of the reasons listed in the article, I would say that the slaughter of the Yazidi was their biggest mistake. From a military perspective it made no sense whatsoever and it needlessly antagonized the rest of the world. Plus it brought the U.S. into the war, which was a huge error for ISIS. Of course, ISIS has never acted logically. They wanted the United States to join the war so they would have the chance to kill American soldiers. So far they haven't killed any, but plenty of their troops have died to coalition airstrikes. 

Of course just because ISIS is on the decline that doesn't mean they are on the verge of defeat. They still control vast territories,weapons and fighters. The might not be able to take any more territory but they will defend what they have for as long as they can. Given the weakness of all other players in both Iraq and Syria, it will be a long time before ISIS is defeated totally. Assuming no U.S. or European ground troops are deployed it will take years to destroy ISIS. 

That being said, this is still very good news. Like the article said it seemed like Baghdad would fall, the Yazidi would cease to exist and Kobane would be overrun. None of those things happened. That's something worth celebrating.