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Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on April 10, 2025. (Getty Images)
Current U.S. policy in Iraq fails to focus the political class in Baghdad on the need for Sunni enfranchisement. Without important political reforms, ISIS will continue to flourish in areas of disaffected Sunnis. And even if ISIS could be defeated in such an environment, neglecting the issues that led to its creation and growth will leave space for a new ISIS-like group to take root.
On June 10, Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion to assess current U.S. policy toward ISIS in Iraq and examine solutions going forward. Ambassador Feisal al-Istrabadi, a former Iraqi diplomat; Ret. Col. Richard Welch, a former U.S. Special Forces officer; and Dr. Denise Natali, a distinguished research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, joined Hudson Adjunct Fellow Michael Pregent to discuss how to shape future policy.
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USS Barry prepares to conduct an underway replenishment with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on August 16, 2026. (US Navy)
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People walk up a ramp from FDR Drive as they evacuate from Lower Manhattan in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001. (Getty Images)
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A member of the US Army 7th Army Training Command stands with a radar for drone detection during a demonstration at the US Army Joint Multinational Readiness Center on August 26, 2026, near Hohenfels, Germany. (Getty Images)
