Defeating ISIS: The US is 'very near the goal line'

This month, Iraqi forces ousted Islamic State fighters from Hawija, the group's last remaining stronghold in Iraq. In Syria, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters pushed the Islamic State out of 80 percent of Raqqa, once the self-proclaimed capital of its terrorist caliphate.

The Washington Examiner spoke with the man leading the Air Force portion of the fight in Iraq and Syria, Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft.

A former F-15, F-22, and MQ-1 Predator pilot, Croft is now the deputy commanding general of the Air, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command for Operation Inherent Resolve in Baghdad.

Washington Examiner: What does the liberation of Hawija signal in terms of where we are in our effort to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria?

Croft: It's one step closer to the defeat of ISIS. It's taken us very near the goal line. The defeat of ISIS in Hawija was accomplished more quickly than we had anticipated, which I think tells you that the capability and capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces continues to increase, as does their momentum and confidence in the fight against ISIS. And that has been largely enabled by our advisory teams, but it also actually shows that the ISF is starting to just push out ahead and do things. They always have done it at their own pace, but now it's even more independent of the coalition support, which is a good news story.