After the Liberation of Mosul, Where’s the Good News for Iraq?

After the Liberation of Mosul, Where’s the Good News for Iraq?
Iraqi troops march in a military parade during celebrations marking the recapture of Mosul from Islamic State militants, Baghdad, July 15, 2017 (Iraqi Prime Minister’s media office via AP).

The defeat in Mosul of the so-called Islamic State was supposed to be good news for Iraq. But challenges that remain—ranging from Shiite militias’ new role and Sunni Iraqis’ enduring mistrust of each other and Baghdad, to the lack of state capacity to restore basic services—mean that Mosul’s nightmare will just continue. For some modest signs of constructive political change that is happening in Iraq, we need to look deeper, at local and regional developments.

The recapture of Mosul on July 10 by Iraqi forces, with the help of Shiite and Kurdish militia, was supposed to usher in a new period of hope for restoring the Iraqi state and some semblance of domestic peace. The defeat of the Islamic State from control of Iraqi territory, while not complete, is indeed a major step forward. But it is abundantly clear that a whole new set of daunting challenges now confronts Iraq’s leaders.

The physical destruction of the city—during the long and brutal occupation by the Islamic State, which seized Mosul in 2014, as well as from the months-long assault by government forces—means that restoring basic services and infrastructure cannot happen quickly. And the destruction by the Islamic State of the Grand al-Nuri mosque—the 12th-century site where the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared his caliphate three years ago—is a permanent loss of culture, historical memory and pride for the ancient city.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review