ISIS is being checked and being destroyed by strategic realities. Russia will not allow nearby Syria to become a jihadist Islamic state. They, endemic non Jihadist, non Sunni forces within Syria and the Kurds are the natural enemies of ISIS which is a Sunni jihadist movement. The Iranians and other Shiites in Iraq are also their opposition. Turkey’s dream of establishing a new caliphate through ISIS and the Saudis attempt to use them to establish a militant Sunni state to oppose Iran have failed. ISIS, like the rest of fundamentalist Islamic culture is not sustainable or compatible with the values, institutions or practices of modernity. In short it is up to the locals themselves to achieve their own consensus. American involvement in the region has not enhanced the security of the American people and has been futile.
How is this success occurring that you note? Is it just the firmness of Russia not allowing?