It appears that President Obama’s focus on air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) is only an opening act, and by itself stands no chance of defeating the organization and arresting the tide of volunteers flocking to join its ranks. IS fighters blend into the urban environment, making it difficult for the coalition forces to identify them and seriously damage their capabilities. An aerial campaign without a ground offensive can, at most, impede the activity of IS forces. To win the campaign, it is necessary to persuade the regional players to send ground forces into the battle. Indeed, given the prevalent sense in the international community that the Western-Arab coalition is failing to stop the onslaught of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, sources in the US administration are calling for stepped-up military activity by the coalition. Among those favoring this approach are Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.
