The Air War of Unintended Consequences

Walter Russell Mead:

So we’ve had more sound than fury. What is it accomplishing? Early results seem to show that, when boots on the ground are absent, air power is of limited utility against ISIS. In fact, ISIS has recently managed to push forward around Kobane in the face of an air attack; only Turkish tanks might turn the tide there now.

Meanwhile, one thing our airstrikes have been able to do, it seems, is unite our enemies against us. The strikes have built ISIS’s credit among its fellow jihadists, giving credence to their claim to be foremost in fighting the United States. As a result, according to the Financial Times, feuding jihadists may be patching up old differences in Syria to fight the Great Satan

You want to wage war on the cheap? You’ll get much less than you paid for.