Win the War, Lose the Peace?

In an opinion piece for Norwegian daily Dagsavisen, EUNPACK project manager Morten Bøås and Tina Gade ask what will happen after Islamic State are driven out of Mosul. They argue that an apparent lack of planning on the part of the anti-IS forces currently attacking Mosul makes it likely that they will win the war, but lose the peace in the city. "The coalition now fighting against IS is a short-term military coalition that has an interest in chasing IS out of Mosul but has little else that unites them," they write. "At best the coalition now has a military plan but no real plan to rebuild Mosul politically and economically. This is necessary because a plan is required to bring the city and its people together again socially, economically and politically."

The article is accessible here (in Norwegian).