Whether it will contribute to reversing the major gains already made by IS forces in northern Iraq, and to re-establishing the territorial integrity of the Iraqi state, is a different question. As the Obama administration has made clear, that will depend, above all, on whether the disastrously divisive leadership of Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Shia prime minister, gives way to a more inclusive regime, and whether, in that context, the ineffectual Iraqi army can regroup and rally.
此次干预行动能否扭转“伊斯兰国”势力在伊拉克北部的重大胜利、恢复伊拉克国家的领土完整仍然有待观察。正如奥巴马政府所明确表示的那样，能否实现上述目标归根结底将取决于伊拉克什叶派总理马利基灾难性分裂的领导班子能否让位于更加包容的政府，以及在这种情况下，低效的伊拉克军队能否成功重组和集结。