Obama outlines realistic plan to take on Islamic State thugs

The United States and its West- ern allies cannot be the face of the military campaign against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, which is why Presid ent Obama πs decision not to send in American troops is the right one.

Nonetheless, in a nationally broadcast speech to the nation Wednesday night, Obama made it clear that the counterterrorism effort against the Islamic extremists will be unrelenting.

“This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground,” the president said. ISIL — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — is the alternative name for the group.

The expansion of the airstrikes in Iraq and into Syria was triggered by the highly publicized beheading of two U.S. journalists who were kidnapped by IS extremists. The videos of the brutal murders were put on the Internet for the world to see.

Adding to the anxiety of the American people was the fact that IS fighters are not only being recruited from the Middle East, but also from the West, including this country.

Indeed, the executioner of the two American journalists spoke with a British accent.

In his address to the nation, President Obama said that one of the goals of the stepped-up military campaign is to stem the flow of foreigners to the Middle East looking to join IS.

The Islamic extremists, who number about 10,000, have been so brutal in their push to establish a caliphate in that part of the world that even other terrorist groups, such as al-Qaida, have repudiated them.

IS has captured large swaths of land in northern Iraq and western Syria and has waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing that has shocked the world.

A month ago, President Obama gave the green for American airstrikes in the areas in Iraq held by Islamic State fighters, resulting in Kurds, Christians and Sunnis being saved from certain death.

The effectiveness of American air power was most evident in Mosul where IS fighters had taken control of the dam. The unrelenting attack on the fighters resulted in that dam being abandoned.

IS is no match for the United States military, which explains why Arab leaders in the Middle East are willing to participate in the coalition announced by the president.

While Americans will not participate in the ground assault, they will serve as advisers and provide intelligence.

Obama announced that another 400 or so non-combatants will be deployed to Iraq to assist the military with training and planning. There already are about 1,000 troops providing security for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and other locations, training Iraqi soldiers and offering logistical support.

The new Iraqi government has agreed to take on the fight to Islamic State. Kurdish troops will also be participating.

Syrian civil war

Meanwhile in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is holding on to power with all the military might he can muster, American fighter jets will target the areas held by IS, while the Obama administration will send arms and other military support to rebel groups seeking to overthrow Assad.

Both the Syrian government and the rebel groups fear the IS fighters and would not shed any tears if the U.S.-led coalition took on the extremists.

Polls show that the American people are firm in their belief that Islamic State poses a threat to the security of the United States and its allies, and as such support an aggressive military response to what’s going on in that region of the world.

But, as President Obama warned in his speech to the nation, the destruction of Islamic State will not be easy nor quick. We should brace ourselves for a long, expensive military campaign.