Publication

This commentary discusses the US strategy against the Islamic State (IS) and the changes to this policy that were announced in a speech by President Obama on September 10, 2014. In particular, the author suggests that the two main reasons for the changes were 1) IS's conquest of territory close to Baghdad and to Mosul and 2) the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki from office. He also outlines the goals he thinks the US wants to achieve in its fight against IS and how the threat posed by IS was dealt with at the NATO summit meeting in Wales.