In an article for Hate Speech International, Jason Pack and Rhiannon Smith discuss what lessons can be learned from the battle against ISIS in Sirte which might be relevant for the ongoing offensive against ISIS in Mosul. They conclude that:
In Libya as in Iraq, ISIS’ rise is a symptom – and not the cause of the current conflict. Therefore, viewing the battle for Sirte as a purely military counter-terror operation that can be treated separately to the Libyan political context is not only intellectually false, but also incredibly dangerous. The same applies in the battle for Mosul. Our study of the fight against ISIS in Libya suggests that Western efforts to put military gains before political coalition building in Iraq are likely to backfire in the medium term.
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