The U.S. Strategy To Wage War Against the Islamic State Has Limits

New York Times: U.S. Bombing in Libya Reveals Limits of Strategy Against ISIS

CAIRO — American warplanes bombed a seaside town in Libya early Friday aiming to kill a militant commander linked to attacks on Western tourists. But the mission also highlighted the widening gap between American military operations and diplomatic efforts to bring peace and stability to a tumultuous region.

The airstrikes on a training camp in Sabratha, targeting a Tunisian militant associated with planning two major attacks on Western tourists in Tunisia last year, did demonstrate the United States’ growing concern over Libya as a new base for the Islamic State and its willingness to use air power against militant commanders and infrastructure.

Yet every counterterrorism victory also underscores the limits of the American approach to the countries where the Islamic State is strongest, as the focus on military action has not been matched by diplomatic efforts to resolve the core political issues that allow jihadists to prosper.

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Update: In Libya, the U.S. opens a fourth front in war on ISIS (Military Times)

WNU Editor: Relying on the numerous factions and groups in many of these trouble spots to work together to defeat threats like the Islamic State clearly has limits .... but since the U.S. is unwilling to commit the necessary ground forces and assets to defeat the Islamic State .... this arrangement is probably the next best thing.