The United States should go on the "attack" against ISIS

I appreciate Samyul for opening this debate topic. The impact of the decisions that are made around this topic will effect real people in the most fundamental ways. Going on the "attack" is not a subject to take lightly, and I expect neither of us are.Opening argumentThe civil wars in Syria and Iraq have provoked outrage. Horrific sectarian violence producing a staggering body count. The refugees the fighting has displaced estimated at over two million and growing [1]. The natural human response to this is to act. Adding to our emotional response are the open wounds of terrorist attacks on our own country, and the costly wars that ensued. Rhetorically, if we don’t act, what was accomplished with all our blood and treasure?The problem with this line of thought is, additional US intervention runs demonstrably counter to the perceived goals. We are less likely to end the suffering than to compound it, stretching the killing out over decades instead of years. We strengthen the cause of ISIS, knowing that our intervention is critical to their objective of uniting the Middle East in a very vertical interpretation of Islam.Elaborating on these two points in turn:We are less likely to end suffering than to compound it.The United States is without question the most powerful fighting force on the planet today. Our capabilities run a wide range, however, going on the attack, in whatever form that takes, means fighting a lesser adversary with our monstrously superior force. Try as we might, the civilian population will be in greater jeopardy in the immediate presence of the US military. In Iraq we are counting in the hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties [4].Our recent involvement in the Middle East has strong lessens for us about our expectations for length of wars. ‘‘I can’t say if the use of force would last five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that.’’ - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [5].We strengthen the cause of ISISISIS, learning from the recent pass, have a keen understanding of the value of propaganda. Their grizzly shows of beheading westerners is not stupidity, or arrogance. They are orchestrating intervention. ISIS needs the west as the evil “other”. The cause for the riotous fight, the image for recruitment and consensus around their interpretation of Islam.During the run-up to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many who favored less military intervention said something to the effect that killing some number of terrorists only resulted in multiplying the terrorists. The argument goes - regardless if my father was a terrorists or not, if he was killed by a US bombing launched by a drone, it is a powerful motivator for me to want to fight back at the killer of my father. The religious extremists stepping in when emotions are high fill my need for revenge. Chopping off the head of an enemy by proxy is not as barbaric as the killing of my father by drone strike! The results are in at this point, and it’s not hypothetical anymore [2][3]. We are creating them with every one we kill.Adding to the obstacles ISIS must overcome is the issue of adoption and acceptance of their vision of Islam. When the battle is contained entirely within the bounds of Islam, the population is splintered. However, when faced with the radical “other” the slight shades of gray become less critical. That is, whatever disagreement the population may have about the correct Implementation of Islam, it looks trivial when facing the western world that seems hostile to Islam in any configuration.Summary of intimal pointsThe members of ISIS are clear in their hatred of the west. They are violent. They are a growing force in the regent. That we want to do something about them is all very understandable. What we can and should do about them is not as clear. About the only approach that is a known looser is direct attack. [1] http://www.unhcr.org...[2] http://www.washingtonsblog.com...[3] http://www.thenation.com...[4] https://www.iraqbodycount.org...[5] http://www.personal.psu.edu...