Mosul: Winning the Battle and the War

The Trump Administration has inherited a complex set of problems in Iraq. Most pressing among them is the ongoing campaign to recapture Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, from ISIS. The operation to liberate Mosul has met fierce resistance, but Iraqi forces – with coalition aid – control the eastern half of the city and have now begun their final assault on the last pocket of ISIS forces in the west. Helping those forces liberate the western half of Mosul is one of the first challenges that President Trump and his administration face in Iraq. However, perhaps more important will be the political race for influence in the city – and much of northern Iraq – by the region’s power players. The Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge spoke with former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Jack Keane, to see where the battle for Mosul stands, and what the Trump Administration will need to do to secure the city afterward.

The Cipher Brief: Where does the battle for Mosul currently stand?