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WTH is going on with ISIS? Baghdadi is dead, but the Islamic State is alive and well

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Over the weekend, President Trump announced that the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed during a raid by US commandos in Syria’s Idlib province. And while Baghdadi’s death is a clear victory in the war on terror, eliminating the leader of ISIS will not eliminate the threat nor defeat the larger Salafi-jihadi movement.

On this episode, Dany and Marc interviewed the New York Times’ Eric Schmitt to learn more about the state of ISIS. The three discuss the American troop withdrawal from northeastern Syria, the relationship between the Islamic State and al Qaeda, and what the international community should do about the thousands of ISIS fighters and families in prisons and refugee camps throughout the region.

Eric Schmitt is a senior writer covering terrorism and national security for the New York Times. Since 2007, he has reported on terrorism issues, with assignments in Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
He is the coauthor of “Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret
Campaign Against Al Qaeda,” which was published in 2011.

Hosts:
Danielle PletkaMarc Thiessen