2015 saw three separate coalitions entering the fight against ISIL or Daesh, lead respectively by Russia, the US, and Saudi Arabia. The end of the year saw the diplomatic momentum moving in the right direction, with the UN Security Council voting for a resolution designed to help de-conflict the crisis there.
It seems like all of the pieces are in play for a concerted effort to defeat ISIL or Daesh, but the thing is, there’s a difference between combating it militarily and defeating the ideology that gave root to it in the first place.
The ideology of violent Islamic extremism will likely be a lot more difficult to eradicate, but winning the war on the ground will probably have to come first before winning the war for hearts and minds.
Anchal Vohra, CNN-IBN Foreign affairs editor; Giacomo Morabito, Director and Founder at Mediterranean Affairs; and Navid Nasr, Independent geopolitical analyst and radio host with "Voices of the 99 Percent" shared their perspectives.
