As US warplanes continue to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria, President Obama is loudly proclaiming “progress” has been made in the conflict against ISIS. Exactly what he means by progress, however, is uncertain.
Obama’s comments primarily centered around how many other nations are nominally members of the anti-ISIS coalition, and how heartened he is by that show of support.
Yet as ever, the coalition is largely of nations which haven’t committed to do anything at all in the war, and all indications are that the airstrikes are having little impact on the ground, with ISIS continuing to gain ground, particularly in Syria.
Beyond that, Obama and other officials talking of the conflict simply reiterated their expectations for a long war and a call for patience. They didn’t indicate how long “long” is going to be, but they also didn’t dispute recent talk of a 30-year war.