JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — Officials from the United States and its allies in the fight against the Islamic State hammered out details on Wednesday about how to stabilize and govern the cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria — the last big strongholds held by the extremist Sunni militancy — in the event that Iraqi and Syrian fighters retake the cities in the coming months.

But even as the officials were mapping out the day-after scenarios, they faced a bigger question, particularly in the aftermath of an attempted coup in Turkey and an attack the Islamic State says it inspired in France: Is the United States-led coalition winning the battle but losing the larger war?

“ISIS has suffered from significant setbacks on the ground, in Ramadi, Hit, Falluja, Qaiyara and Manbij,” the French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, told the group of officials at Joint Base Andrews, Md., using another name for the Islamic State, also known as ISIL. “However, we are aware that the fight will not stop in Iraq or Syria.”

In fact, the officials at the meeting said they were looking for ways to diminish the Islamic State’s reach around the world, particularly the ideology that many say has driven an increase in terrorist attacks in Europe, West Africa and the United States.