MICHAEL GORDON:

Well, that's the billion-dollar question really.

What the Trump administration has done so far pretty much goes by the Obama administration's playbook. I mean, their idea was the local provide the fighters, we provide the firepower, and that's how we grab back territory from ISIS.

But the big question is, who are going to be the fighters who seize the town? And the most capable forces that the American military has found in the region is this YPG Kurdish militia. They're the ones that have the most experience fighting. They're the ones that played the key role in taking back Manbij.

They're the force that the American military is counting on to be a component, not the majority of the force, that takes Raqqa, but a key component of the assault force.

The problem is, Turkey considers them to be terrorists, and they have sort of drawn a red line at arming the YPG. But, unless we arm the YPG, they're in no position to help out in the Raqqa assault. And that's pretty much where things stand at this point.