Planning for a post Islamic State Iraq

The days of Islamic State controlling large swaths of territory and major cities in Iraq and Syria appear to be numbered with an assault one of its last strongholds, the Iraqi city of Mosul, expected soon. Military planners are now looking towards the next stage of the war against IS, which is likely to become a rural counter-insurgency operation much like the conflict between Al Qaeda and US forces after the 2004 invasion of Iraq. Michael Knights is an analyst and Iraq expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.