A 12-year-old Iraqi boy stands alone in an alley. His eyes are full of anger and hatred, but in them you sense a terrifying fear. He is covered in dust and grime—dirt almost hides the youthful appearance of his face. Strapped around his torso is a suicide vest filled with high explosives. He waits for the Iraqi Army. If it tries to advance past his position, he will detonate his vest. Meanwhile, Islamic State terrorists hide in houses behind him.

This 12-year-old is only one of many preteen and teenaged boys recruited by the Islamic State to defend the streets of Mosul against the terrorist group’s enemies. These boys are either forced to become human shields and sacrifices for the sadistic terrorist group, or they volunteer, firm believers in the group’s cause—“sons of the caliphate,” as they are called. Fueled by empty promises of Islamic paradise, these boys have little future in this life.

As the battle for Mosul rages on, the humanitarian crisis worsens. Atrocities are committed by both the Islamic State and the Iraqi Army Coalition. Every day, civilians are executed or caught in the crossfire. Nearly 1 million inhabitants are trapped in the city.

Defeating the Islamic State will come at a brutal price. A tragic legacy of the policies of the West is being written by the blood of the Iraqi people. The weakness of American policy is felt not in Washington, but in Mosul.

The Scene of Battle

Mosul is located in northern Iraq. It is approximately 60 miles east of the Syrian border and 60 miles south of the Turkish border. The Tigris River lazily flows through the center of the city. Mosul lies at the top of the Fertile Crescent and inhabits the land of antiquity.

Mosul is Iraq’s third-largest city with a population of around 1 million. The inhabitants come from a diverse background that includes many Assyrian Christians. The majority are either Shiite or Sunni Muslims. The sectarian divide in the population has been the source of constant violence and political strife since before the reign of Saddam Hussein.

During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Hussein’s tyrannical government fell quickly. However, the power vacuum that developed in Iraqi politics left the country in shambles. The United States Army quickly got involved in a nation-building effort. Iraq descended into sectarian violence that threatened to tear the country apart. Mosul was no different. In 2005, the U.S. Army conducted counterinsurgency operations in the territory around Mosul, including Tal Afar (which is an Islamic State stronghold today). The U.S. Army saw success in quelling violence and terrorism by using overwhelming force and looking to solve the sectarian divide that fueled the internal conflict.

The troop surge ordered in 2007 by President George W. Bush did much to end the sectarian violence. The U.S. Army was also able to push al Qaeda in Iraq, the greatest destabilizing force among the Sunni Muslims, into western Iraq. Led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist organization teetered on the brink of oblivion. When the U.S. pulled out of Iraq in 2011, the task of stabilizing the nation and leaving a safe political climate was left unfinished. The success in northern Iraq and around the country would soon be completely erased by the rise of the Islamic State.

When the U.S. Army completed its withdrawal from Iraq, it left behind a partially trained and reformed Iraqi Army that was not an equal substitute for American soldiers. The Iraqi government could not fill in the power void, but the terrorist organization Zarqawi created did. In 2014, the newly named Islamic State burst onto the scene. Quickly seizing territory in Syria and Iraq, the scattered terrorist group declared itself a caliphate. Mosul was its most prestigious conquest, giving credibility to the jihadists.

The Struggle for Iraq

Over the past two years, a brutal war has been fought for control of Iraq and Syria. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, it destabilized the region further. The Islamic State was able to expand into Syria, which was its real seat of power. The seizure of Syrian oil wells gave the Islamic State the majority of its wealth to fund violence in the Middle East and terrorist operations around the world. The Islamic State has continued to struggle for more power in both countries, but has been pushed back on both fronts.

The conflict in the Middle East has been complex, involving many different nations, ethnicities and international organizations. The U.S., Russia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Turkey, Syria, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, Iraqi Army and Shiite militias are all involved in fighting the Islamic State. The current U.S.-led coalition engaged in removing the Islamic State from Iraq comprises the American-trained Iraqi Army, Sunni tribal fighters, Kurdish forces and Shiite militias sponsored by Iran.

The current year has brought success for this U.S.-led coalition. Fallujah and Ramadi were recovered, and the Islamic State was sent reeling backward toward its last foothold in Iraq: Mosul.

The battle for Mosul is only the latest struggle in a long history of sectarian violence. Over the past two years, the Islamic State has executed hundreds of Iraqi men and buried them in mass graves; dozens have been beheaded; many tortured. Women have been forced to become sex slaves to their Islamic State masters. Children have been butchered.

As the U.S.-led coalition closes in on Mosul, it is an intensely personal battle for each soldier. The Iraqi Army is reclaiming its country—a country that had been ripped apart by a sadistic terrorist organization. It seeks to avenge its fellow countrymen of the war crimes committed against them. However, it is coming at a high cost.

The Atrocities of War

In March, the Iraqi government declared its intention to retake Mosul. After some delays, the offensive began in mid-October. The attack is spearheaded by the Iraqi Special Operations Forces 1st Brigade, also called the Golden Division. The U.S.-led coalition numbers around 100,000 soldiers, while the insurgents in Mosul are estimated to be up to 9,000. Senior Iraqi commanders estimated six months for the offensive, but the coalition has run into heavy resistance from the Islamic State. The Iraqi Army advised the near 1 million inhabitants of Mosul to stay in the city instead of fleeing: The region is already in a humanitarian crisis and there would be no facilities to care for them. In light of recent developments, that may have been a terrible mistake.

As the Iraqi Army pushes into the southern neighborhoods of Mosul, it is encountering a desperate and savage defense from the Islamic State. The terrorist organization had been stockpiling mortars, weapons and explosives for months in the lead-up to the battle. Since Mosul is the last major city it holds, the group has gone to grisly measures to stop the offensive.

The United Nations has reported mass executions of Mosul civilians trying to flee the war zone. Many families, caught in the crossfire between the two armies, have tried to flee, only to become target practice for Islamic State snipers. Those who do escape the city are forced to walk through the desolate remains of war: Explosions are heard in the distance, smoke fills the air, and all they see ahead of them is unforgiving desert. All they possess are the clothes on their backs and what little possessions they could carry.

As it withdrew toward the Tigris River, the Islamic State began lobbing mortars at neighborhoods full of civilians. These mortars come without warning and often wound or kill innocent bystanders, including children playing in the street. Houses are damaged by the indiscriminate bombardment. Despite this, many civilians refuse to leave their homes. Everything they own is in Mosul, and most are willing to die for their livelihoods.

The further the Iraqi Army advances, the more atrocities are uncovered. Just three weeks into the offensive, the Army discovered the bodies of 40 civilians hung from electric poles throughout the city—they were killed after being accused of sympathizing with the Iraqi Army. Five more civilians were crucified in a prominent intersection to warn civilians against helping the U.S.-led coalition. The Iraqi Army released nearly 1,000 prisoners from an underground prison—most showed signs of torture and malnutrition. Mass graves have also been unearthed on the outskirts of Mosul.

But the Islamic State has employed even more barbaric tactics in combat. Hundreds of civilians have been used as human shields to protect Islamic State fighters as they move locations. Iraqi soldiers report that many Islamic State terrorists hold infants while fighting on the front lines. The group has also deployed many children and teenagers as suicide bombers in desperate attempts to stop their retreat. Many other suicide bombers in cars packed with high explosives lurk behind buildings and in side alleys, waiting for their chance to kill as many of the enemy as possible.

The UN has also reported that the Islamic State appears to be stockpiling chemical weapons in densely populated neighborhoods. Large amounts of ammonia and sulfur have been moved in Mosul, with larger amounts being moved to Syria. There is no clear evidence on how these weapons could be used, but disaster seems to be waiting on the horizon.

For the people of Mosul, death is their daily companion. Most live with the painful memories of loved ones being dragged away screaming, not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead. Many parents grieve the death of their young children or their sons becoming cannon fodder for the Islamic State. The city lies in shambles. Most houses are pockmarked from gunfire and bear the stains of war that cannot be washed away.

However, it’s not only the Islamic State committing the atrocities. A cell phone video has emerged purportedly showing a soldier in the Iraqi Army dragging a man along the ground who was accused of helping the Islamic State. The soldier then threw the man underneath a passing tank; his body was crushed under the treads. Other reports tell of dead Islamic State soldiers being mutilated by Iraqi soldiers.

It is a grim, unforgiving war with no mercy and no prisoners. And the battle is expected to continue for several more months.

Legacy of Failure

The battle for Mosul illuminates the true nature of the Islamic State. The death-worshiping sadistic terrorist group claims to be fulfilling divine will, even as it violates every law and the God-given rights of those it tortures and murders. Its evil acts give the world an uncomfortable reminder of what happens when the world’s superpower turns its back on its responsibilities. The Islamic State is a monster created by the failure of American policy in Iraq.

But the ongoing violence in Iraq is not original to the Islamic State. The country has a long history of violence. Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical government was infamous for brutal torture and mass executions, including the use of chemical weapons. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, barbaric brutality was reported from both sides. The war in Iraq saw revenge killings, beheadings and torture, all done in the name of sectarian struggles and tribal disputes. Iraq has been one of the most tumultuous nations in the 21st century.

However, the current violence and destabilization across the entire region could have been prevented. Al Qaeda in Iraq was almost eliminated from the country when the Obama administration decided to withdraw American forces. Even with the success from the surge starting in 2007, the Islamic State’s rise to power was aided by the U.S. withdrawal before ensuring the Shiite government in Baghdad was inclusive to Sunnis. If America had the will to finish the mission in Iraq and end the cycle of generational violence, the brutal battle for Mosul could have been prevented.

What may concern Western powers even more is the Islamic State’s international terrorist network. The attacks in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and hundreds of others around the world could have been prevented. The Islamic State has afflicted terror on any people who oppose its extreme ideology. The terrorist group’s existence contradicts the ideology that purports human nature has improved in the 21st century. It mocks the idea that America has control in a world erupting into chaos.

In October 1961, Herbert W. Armstrong stated that “the United States of America has won its last war.” The situation in Mosul provides stark evidence of America’s failure to win the war in Iraq, and it’s a reminder that Mr. Armstrong was right. However, Mosul holds a greater, more urgent lesson for the nation.

The battle for Mosul is a reflection on the American people and a barometer of our national well-being. America’s failure to prevent the rise of the Islamic State does not lie solely at the feet of American leadership—it also reflects the weakness of American society in general. This weakness is not apparent in one political belief or another, but in the lack of righteousness of the people. The U.S. military made mistakes in Iraq, but one of the few bright spots in the war was the courage, discipline, skill and perseverance of American soldiers. U.S. efforts for victory in Iraq, and thus what could have stopped the formation of the Islamic State, was undercut by society back home.

Bing West writes in his book The Strongest Tribe:

While the American military adapted to overcome mistakes, American society became more divisive. As Rome and Athens demonstrated 2,000 years ago, every military, no matter how strong its internal code, eventually mirrors its society. Society was not unified in supporting the battle in Iraq. … In the end though, America will be tested by force of arms under circumstances as ambiguous as those in Iraq. …Losing the sense of being a nation should concern us all. We fought the war in Iraq as a nation divided. If we are as divided in the next war, we will be defeated. No nation can sustain its values by claiming to support the soldier while opposing the mission. The truth is the nation determines the mission.

The grisly details of the battle for Mosul, and all the other battles that have been fought and will be fought to defeat the Islamic State, are a constant reminder of American failure in the Middle East. If the deadly sickness in American society is not remedied, then it is only a matter of time until battles like Mosul are fought not in Iraq, but in the land of the free.