In a speech to the nation on Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama will announce a three-stage campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Administration officials say the campaign may take three years to complete, and may thus require a sustained effort which would last beyond the Obama presidency. The first phase, which is already underway, consists of air attacks on ISIS targets (this phase of the campaign began 8 August; to date, 145 airstrikes have been conducted). The next phase, to begin after Iraq forms a more inclusive government, will involve an intensified effort to train, advise, and equip the Iraqi military, Kurdish fighters, and Iraqi Sunni tribes. The third phase, which is the most politically controversial, would involve destroying the terrorist army in its sanctuary inside Syria.