The impending fall of Mosul makes this Trump talking point somewhat moot and it will be interesting to see how Trump and Hillary Clinton handle any discussion of ISIS during the final presidential debate on Wednesday night, since it is abundantly clear that the US-led coalition is already knocking the hell out of ISIS.
But before anyone breaks out the champagne, even a victory in Mosul will not solve what ails much of the Middle East, because ISIS is not the fundamental problem; it is instead a symptom of larger, more intractable, problems.