ISIS: Who Really Has A Strategy?
No one knows what to do against ISIS.
President Obama recently proclaimed there was no strategy in dealing with ISIS. He was derided for this statement, but he is just being honest. He doesn’t have a strategy. No one does. Here’s why.
Yes! More War!
It’s pretty clear our country is wary of war. Americans don’t want the US in a war in the Middle East, and prefer that citizens of those respective countries fight for themselves.
However, I am of the belief that helping the Kurds protect themselves does not have to be war. Providing intelligence and occasional air support does not have to be war. Backing the Kurds with arms and money is a smart use of limited resources without being at war.
The Kurds aren’t going to destroy ISIS. At best they’ll hold their own territory and take back what they’ve lost. That’s ok. ISIS is not some great wave sweeping the globe. This is not Genghis Khan on his way to sack your village.
Who? ISIS? Them? Nah
Thus far, ISIS seems to be great at killing unarmed people and taking over areas where “soldiers” run away instead of fight. That’s probably because there are only about 20,000 of them.
The videos ISIS posts consists of dudes driving around in civilian cars and shooting at fleeing and unarmed people. I mean…..that’s bad, but international terror threats…these guys? I don’t see it. Do real armies even release footage of what they are doing on YouTube?
With that being said, while the Iraqi army is a mess and the Syrian Army is stretched in a civil war, they are real armies. ISIS is a collection of roving bands of terrorist groups. Come on. In the end, Iran will drop the hammer on them if Syria and Iraq can not take care of the job.
Radical Islam
It’s relationship with the United States that goes back to at least the Barbary Wars. America has a knack of making everyone’s problem into our problem (we will address this later), but ISIS is not invading North America. Is this our battle? As it stands, the only way ISIS is causing harm is if you go to where they are (Northern Iraq and Syria).
Drug Cartels Got Us On The Border
Drug cartels, believing that ISIS will use Juarez as a base, will be the first to try to find and kill ISIS agents. Any cross border attack resulting in the border being shut down (bomb) would cost the cartels countless amounts of money. We’re good on the border as far as that is concerned.
What About Beating The Drums of War?
I know some of you are out there. Can you please stop? I know bombing is cool, but maybe not always warranted.
You were the same people who wanted us to back the Syrian Independence Army against Assad. That’s ISIS. A year ago, your solution was to give weapons to ISIS, now you are convinced they are the scourge of the earth and the next greatest threat? Tough sell. It turns out having a President that questions first and drops bombs later is probably a good thing.
Decisions, Decisions
There’s no cost free option. Bush charged into Iraq convinced inside of every Iraqi there was an American waiting to burst out.
A trillion dollars and that hasn’t gotten any better. We can’t always fix problems to our liking. Sometimes, the best option is not making things worse. That in itself is a strategy.
This post has been updated from original publishing
