Get Real:

Enough with the damn distortions! General Dempsey said if the current strategy against ISIS does not work he would recommend the introduction of American ground troops. Now everyone is blowing his testimony way out of proportion. “General Dempsey is skeptical about the effectiveness of Obama's Plan,” some hand wringers scream. Andrea Mitchell, along with many other drama casters, said President Obama seems to be out of sync with his generals. As much as I hate to disappoint people who are trying to add a bit of excitement to attract an audience, I have to say that General Dempsey's testimony was not a Truman v. MacArthur moment; nor was it an indication of what is likely to happen. Here is a news flash for you: no general is ever happy unless he is rolling into a situation with overwhelming force, is able to quickly roll up the enemy's flank, win the war and become the great hero everyone hails as a military genius. Ain't likely to happen in the modern world folks!

There really are no good options. This is going to be a protracted struggle with no clear bench marks or end game. Until the countries in that region rise at least to the level of the last half of the twentieth century, there will be medieval religious conflicts fought with modern weapons. The misfits and sociopaths will gravitate to the worst scum in the sewer, and the rest of the world will try to keep that scum from destroying civilization. This is not the fault of Islam any more than the crusades were the fault of Christianity. There will always be people who will misuse religion. All military action is a holding action until diplomacy, education, and economic development make the extremists unattractive to the people in that region. This struggle has been going on for decades and will continue for decades.

I know what I have said is not very appealing. People want quick resolutions, and that is what politicians, particularly demagogs, promise them. I think Bush's war should have taught us the folly of that. I also think that the cold war should have taught us the virtue of persistence and patience. We should risk as little as possible to do what must be done to protect ourselves and to provide the help others need to make things better!