What Obama Left Out of His IS Strategy: A Political Settlement in Syria

“Conducting airstrikes against IS in Syria without corresponding political steps could work to the advantage of the regime in Damascus.” By: Zalmay Khalilzad Three weeks ago in the National Interest, I proposed a five-step plan to destroy the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. The plan called for the United States to: mobilize a major humanitarian-relief effort; catalyze political …