| [WAPO] BLUF: An air-only counterterrorism effort will fail because the Islamic State is not, as Obama claimed in his address, "a terrorist organization, pure and simple." The group governs a swath of territory the size of the United Kingdom. It rules cities. It collects taxes. It controls natural resources and is bringing in $3 million a day in oil revenue. It has a conventional army -- one that has won battles against other conventional armies. As Obama's own defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, has put it, "They're beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess, they are tremendously well-funded. This is beyond anything that we've seen. So we must prepare for everything." |