having a caliph and at least for now they have a caliph no more. eliminating somebody whose face, name, and voice were central to radicalizing people around the world in the name of isis, that is a big step for counterterrorism and a big step backward for isis. does this victory change your view of the president s recent moves, his order to withdraw u.s. troops from syria, which has been wildly criticized and condemned from washington and beyond? it doesn t change my view. if anything, this strengthens my view. let me tell you why. the elements that made this possible are precisely the elements that trump seems to be keen on giving away. having at least some limited u.s. presence on the ground, working with partners who can share intelligence, being able to stage this mission from iraq, all of those were instrumental to this extraordinary operation nam success, all of those are also threatened by the abrupt