MILITARY/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. military commander overseeing the war against Islamic State visited the city once claimed by the group as its capital, saying Monday [1-22-18] that a more difficult campaign now must begin to help local residents regain control and prevent a slide back into extremist hands.
Army Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, spent more than an hour in his first visit to Raqqa, where intact buildings were a rare sight in block after block of rubble. Residents were at work rebuilding inner walls of buildings that have little in the way of outer structure, and several business have opened in various parts of the Syrian city.
Three months after Raqqa was reclaimed by U.S.-backed forces, remnants of Islamic State’s presence remain widespread. They include berms built in the north to slow a feared U.S.-backed ground invasion, mines protruding from the ground, and explosives in homes awaiting clearance efforts. U.S. forces have located documents left behind throughout the city, detailing the brutal form of governance in effect under ISIS, military officials said.
The area’s roadways were the only structures that escaped complete destruction through the U.S.-led aerial assault and local ground campaign, allowing the general to tour much of the city.”
-Nancy A. Youssef, “U.S. Commander Sees Urgent Need for Recovery in Raqqa,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 22, 2018 08:42pm