NEC-SC believes that Al-Qa’ida is indeed in al-Raqqa – which, as our readers know, is the ISIS capital. If that’s the case, that means either that ISIS will merge with Al-Qa’ida; or that ISIS and Al-Qa’ida are in conflict and that war between the two will soon break out.

In the current environment and with less than 100 days to an historical election in the United States, is the administration going to push to clear Mosul in Iraq for political gains, or will it refocus on tangible gains that will defeat a potential Al-Qa’ida -ISIS merger?