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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The defeat of ISIS: Not if… but when

    This week, the Pentagon gave President Trump its best-laid plans to accomplish his campaign promise to accelerate the crushing of ISIS. The Obama Administration already had ISIS on the run, and destruction of the "caliphate" is thought to be inevitable. What would it cost the US to speed up the process?

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    By Warren Olney • Feb 28, 2017 • 1 min read

    This week, the Pentagon gave President Trump its best-laid plans to accomplish his campaign promise to accelerate the crushing of ISIS. The Obama Administration already had ISIS on the run, and destruction of the "caliphate" is thought to be inevitable. What would it cost the US to speed up the process? Arming the Kurds could mean trouble with Turkey. Syria’s civil war might continue. US casualties might be unacceptable to the American public. We find out what options the President is likely to be considering and the consequences of going too far, too fast for political reasons.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The defeat of ISIS: Not if… but when
    1. 1:21A clash of agendas on Olympics and doping
    2. 7:54The defeat of ISIS: Not if… but whenYou’re reading this
    3. 41:34Trumpism in the Netherlands: The Rise of Geert Wilders
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Luke Vander Ploeg

      Producer, 'To the Point'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Gordon Lubold

      Wall Street Journal

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrew Exum

      The Atlantic

    • KCRW placeholder

      Stephen Biddle

      George Washington University / Council on Foreign Relations

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The defeat of ISIS: Not if… but when
    1. 1:21A clash of agendas on Olympics and doping
    2. 7:54The defeat of ISIS: Not if… but whenYou’re reading this
    3. 41:34Trumpism in the Netherlands: The Rise of Geert Wilders
    Back to To the Point