The Wages of Avoidance
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Even as the Obama administration continues to "weigh options," the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) continue to press on, taking more towns in western and central Iraq, and posing an increasingly credible threat to take Baghdad. Meanwhile, the administration, after much soul searching and with the utmost reluctance, has decided to send 300 of what it calls "advisors" to support the Iraqi army, while other units have been dispatched to the Arabian Gulf as a "show of force." More than advisors, and certainly more than a "show" is required to have any hope of stopping the militants, much less rolling them back.