So many people act like The Islamic State is a temporary thing.
They claim about half the territory of Syria and about 1/3 of Iraq, and have declared a caliphate. They have defeated the militaries of Iraq and Syria, for now, and acquired a ton of military gear from them. They are selling oil to the tune of $1-3 million a day, and have just captured a hugely important dam in Iraq.
In the areas they control, they are imposing law and punishing people who disobey, collecting taxes, and to varying degrees, supplying water and electricity etc.
So it seems to me, unless someone takes them out, they are in effect the government of the area they claim.
The United States has only bombed them in specific response to threats of genocide against Yazidis, but has not more generally taken up attacking them in order to unseat them.
It seems like Obama will not specifically go to war with The Islamic State to return territory to Syria and Iraq. So then it likely rests on the shoulders of the Syrian and Iraqi militaries to take back their territory.
Does this seem likely? Or do you imagine the U.S. or some other foreign force will come in and try to destroy The Islamic State?
They claim about half the territory of Syria and about 1/3 of Iraq, and have declared a caliphate. They have defeated the militaries of Iraq and Syria, for now, and acquired a ton of military gear from them. They are selling oil to the tune of $1-3 million a day, and have just captured a hugely important dam in Iraq.
In the areas they control, they are imposing law and punishing people who disobey, collecting taxes, and to varying degrees, supplying water and electricity etc.
So it seems to me, unless someone takes them out, they are in effect the government of the area they claim.
The United States has only bombed them in specific response to threats of genocide against Yazidis, but has not more generally taken up attacking them in order to unseat them.
It seems like Obama will not specifically go to war with The Islamic State to return territory to Syria and Iraq. So then it likely rests on the shoulders of the Syrian and Iraqi militaries to take back their territory.
Does this seem likely? Or do you imagine the U.S. or some other foreign force will come in and try to destroy The Islamic State?