Retaking Mosul

Mosul has gained a certain symbolic significance in the fight in Iraq against the Islamic State. Iraq's second-largest city and the biggest bastion of the Iraqi Sunni Arab population, Mosul has served as a strategically important source of manpower and finances for the Islamic State since the group gained control of the city in June 2014. However, it is only one piece of the Islamic State's territory, and its loss would not be an existential blow to the group or immediately end the larger fight against the Islamic State. Nevertheless, numerous actors, particularly Baghdad and Washington, are using the impending battle for Mosul as political capital to mark the reversal of Islamic State gains. Though Mosul will likely be the staging ground for the next large-scale battle in Iraq, there are several key steps that must be taken before an offensive can be launched.