Posted on May 27, 2015
Do you think that U.S. caution is giving ISIS an edge as this article suggests? If so, what do you think the U.S. should do?
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American and allied warplanes are equipped with the most precise aerial arsenal ever fielded. But American officials say they are not striking significant, and obvious, Islamic State targets out of fear that the attacks will accidentally kill civilians. Killing such innocents could hand the militants a major propaganda coup and alienate the local Sunni tribesmen, whose support is critical to ousting the militants, and Sunni Arab countries that are part of the fragile American-led coalition.
But many Iraqi commanders and some American officers say that exercising such prudence with airstrikes is a major reason the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh, has been able to seize vast territory in recent months in Iraq and Syria. That caution — coupled with President Obama’s reluctance to commit significant American firepower to a war the White House declared over in 2011, when the last United States combat troops withdrew from Iraq — has led to persistent complaints from Iraqi officials that the United States has been too cautious in its air campaign.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/world/middleeast/with-isis-in-crosshairs-us-holds-back-to-protect-civilians.html
But many Iraqi commanders and some American officers say that exercising such prudence with airstrikes is a major reason the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh, has been able to seize vast territory in recent months in Iraq and Syria. That caution — coupled with President Obama’s reluctance to commit significant American firepower to a war the White House declared over in 2011, when the last United States combat troops withdrew from Iraq — has led to persistent complaints from Iraqi officials that the United States has been too cautious in its air campaign.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/world/middleeast/with-isis-in-crosshairs-us-holds-back-to-protect-civilians.html
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
What give ISIS an edge is a administration that has invested it's legacy into "stopping the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan". Which means the US cannot get reinvolved in those countries without falsifying that legacy.
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I think if we put a squadron of A-10 Wart Hogs at Baghdad International Airport and let them roam the surrounding desert for a couple of weeks the influence of ISIS would be reduced.
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Caution does not win wars. Wars are won by violence of action and aggressively working towards defeating the enemy. As with any conflict, the overall goal is the arena of the politicians. As such we have two options: all in or all out. Caution is expending resources for no real gains.
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