Editorial: Defeating ISIS means ...

By Boston Herald Staff|Yesterday

The barbaric Brussels terror attacks show that the "war" against the Islamic State being fought by the United States and a few allies is being lost. It will not be won without a major, difficult shift in tactics.

First, the Islamic State, ISIS, must be ejected from the territory it controls in eastern Syria and western Iraq, its caliphate. And last week's killing of a senior ISIS commander is as even Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged, "necessary, but not sufficient" to win this conflict.

The territory ISIS now occupies is essential for training its fighters, storing weapons and pumping oil for black-market sale. Though the terrorists have lost some ground, their control has not been threatened by the half-hearted air campaign of the United States and others.

Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and others advocate an alliance of Muslim countries to supply the boots on the ground for the effort. But nobody will join such a coalition without participation from the West, and that includes at least some U.S. ground troops.

Second, and more difficult, the jihadists must be separated, in spirit if not in geography, from Muslim civilians. This is the lesson of, among other campaigns in history, Gen. David Petraeus' victory in Iraq's Anbar Province over al-Qaeda intruders. Petraeus' troops could protect the civilians and offer benefits in exchange for their help.

The Belgian terrorists, remember, melted into their communities when planning their attacks.

President Obama on Wednesday repeated a commitment to his current strategy of airstrikes plus a little help for the Iraqi Army and anti-regime forces in Syria. He trotted out his favorite straw men for destruction, such as the notion that "carpet bombing" could do the job. (He was right to denounce a cockamamie proposal from Ted Cruz to patrol Muslim neighborhoods.) The president has rejected modest proposals from the Pentagon for better military help in the region.

Obama believes greater U.S. intervention would be counter-productive, but it's hard to understand how matters could get worse. ISIS is sending suicide bombers from the caliphate to cities around the world. The United States is not immune.

Nobody wins a fight without resolution.