Does anyone seriously think that what failed to work with a strong U.S. presence will succeed in the absence of that presence, albeit with some additional money thrown in? And the president’s carving out a reduced area for future American military action seems to us a prescription for chaos around the world.
President Obama would have been well advised to look more closely into approaches that play to U.S. strengths. The old saw that only boots on the ground can work has been proved both false and debilitating. Perhaps a mixture of the broad use of precision drone bombing and the old-fashioned carpet sort would get the attention of our adversaries without the need to commit troops.
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