Hassan Hassan,
New York TimesThe government in Baghdad continues to use Shiite militias to fight in Sunni areas, pushing some Iraqis into the Islamic State's waiting arms, or at least encouraging people to view the group as their sole defender. Meanwhile, Syria's civil war rages on and new conflicts emerge within it, attracting fresh recruits. Even American officials have told me privately that the political changes necessary to stem the group's appeal in Iraq and Syria are lagging behind the military advances. The number of members volunteering to blow themselves up is not a sign of a dying group.
