Destroying the Islamic State Hydra: Lessons Learned from the Fall of its Predecessor | Combating...

There will not be a Sunni Awakening as before - and the war will be waged long past Mosul in Iraq with the use of the PMU Shia militias. Having the Shia Militias in the battle - or having them tasked to hold terrain after it is captured is only going to insure the war goes on. And as bad as their record is - should they suffer a defeat in Mosul - it will only make it worse afterwards. The hard lesson is that the Coalition does not hold any ground outside the Kurdish areas.... and so this item is not one in which we control as much as Iran does. "As this analysis has made clear, in order to win hearts and minds, it will be important to increase the protection of Sunni Arab civilians in territories that recently have been liberated from the Islamic State."