It was seldom 5 years since the United
States exited Iraq
with whistles and ticker tape that a crime syndicate named the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria reared its
all-too-powerful head in Iraq.
Straight off, we heard calls for “boots on the ground” and how it was Obama’s
folly not keeping troops in Iraq in perpetuity – because, you know, it’s not
like we have a dormant debt crisis or that Iraq is a sovereign state. As we
move further into our fight with ISIS, it is
critical to understand that the only way to dominate the enemy’s home turf is
to be strategic, not cathartically offensive.
Perhaps it is smartest to go about this listening to our
Commander-in-Chief’s words: “After a decade of massive ground deployments, it
is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of partners on the
ground so they can secure their own countries’ futures.” That is genuinely as
smart a conclusion as any other.
'Murica's knocking!
We must also bear in mind, it’s too early to judge about ISIS. Here is an excerpt from military specialist William
Bowman:
Now,
during the Operation Desert Storm in Iraq
back in 1991, the U.S.
was launching 650 airstrikes every day. Now, obviously we're talking about
different kinds of enemies here. You're comparing terrorist fighters with
mostly assault rifles to Saddam Hussein's large, mechanized army, but this gets
to the main criticism here - that this is not really an air campaign. It's just
strikes here and there. Some call it whack-a-mole.
ISIS is not your classic
state, they say so in their doctrine, wherein they think themselves a caliphate, a hub-based functional domain. They don’t function within set borders or set territories. ISIS has land-grabs in the al-Abnar province, but only a
general hold of other regions. A full-out offensive simply wouldn’t work-
classic warfare only works against a state. ISIS
is not. Airstrikes are the best option we have.
We need also remember our calling. We’re dealing with a bit
of guilt here, how we’re failing to secure the prosperity of every Iraqi
citizen. Well, here’s some news: we’re not. Official Pentagon reports have
stated: “The bombings helped the Yazidi religious sect reach safety, and
thousands of them had been trapped on that mountain top.” Our goal isn’t to
obliterate ISIS, though that would be nice and just, considering the inflicted
damage they caused this country- it’s to secure Iraq. It would be faulty to say
that we haven’t done so. The Kurds, while beleaguered, are fighting back
against ISIS better and more efficiently. According
to the New Yorker, the front line of the ISIS-Kurd fight in Kobani stretches a
650-mile ridgeline. What better way to attack a serpentine, sinuous battlefield
than with God’s own F-16s?
Withal, we must remember: we have money, we have weapons. If we use them strategically and to the right people (see: not the Iraqi government, but grassroots defense funding to civilians), the welfare of the Iraqi state will be as promised as it ever was.
Ball's in your court, Ausubel...
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