Impelled by its hatred of non-believers and the modern world, ISIS was on a path to genocide and world domination. It murdered, raped and pillaged the people as it did the land. Whoever did survive lived under theocratic tyranny, was made a sex slave, or was subject to threat and persecution. It burned books, churches, mosques, libraries and museums. It tortured, beheaded, and desecrated its prisoners, which it filmed for use in its propaganda. It inspired the insane to commit acts of terror all over the globe. This reign of terror destabilized the region and helped spur the ongoing migrant crisis.

But a ragtag group of brave Freedom fighters backed by a coalition of states and mercenary volunteers dealt a fatal blow to the Islamic State death cult, which was finally driven out of Syria like it was in Iraq. The people of Syria and Iraq are, after so many years, liberated from the menace that has effectively ruined the lives of countless millions.

Given their aspirations, ISIS was (and still might be) an existential threat to the entire globe. The mass graves, the ruined cities, the diaspora attest to their wickedness. But in this case the forces of good defeated the forces of evil.

So where is the celebration?