In this August 2014 phone interview with CNN Newsroom host Brooke Baldwin, Elliot Ackerman discusses why airstrikes alone cannot defeat ISIS and why the United States needs a broader regional strategy.

Airstrikes Are a Tool, Not a Strategy

Ackerman argues that airpower can support military operations but cannot replace a coherent political and regional strategy. He warns against assuming that weeks or months of strikes would force ISIS to disband.

A Regional Conflict

Speaking from Istanbul, Ackerman emphasizes that ISIS emerged from interconnected conflicts in Iraq and Syria. He calls for serious coordination with regional partners, including Turkey and Egypt, to address the organization’s wider influence.

Lessons from the Iraq War

Drawing on his experience fighting the group’s predecessor in Iraq, Ackerman explains that ISIS was the latest form of an insurgent movement that had evolved over many years. Any successful response, he argues, would need to be equally sustained and complex.

Watch the Interview

This CNN Newsroom conversation with Brooke Baldwin originally aired on August 8, 2014.