Barack Obama promised to ‘degrade and destroy’ Islamic State, after its jihadists went on a rampage a year ago, grabbing Iraq’s second biggest city, Mosul, and other predominantly Sunni areas of the country’s north-west. But despite that US-led mission, last month the key Iraqi city of Ramadi fell to the terror group.  So is the mission failing and what does that mean for Iraq’s future? Also in this edition of Between the Lines, the situation in the South China Sea is heating up, with nations such as Vietnam and The Philippines calling on the US to contest China’s territorial claims.  Should the situation escalate into a clash between great powers, how should Australia respond?