True Pontias - which is a real worry because Social Media in the 21C allows ideas to spread globally on the click of a mouse rather than at the pace of an advancing army. Even if their Caliphate ideals and barbarian methods were built before and during a time when Saladin and Richard the Lionheart were fighting each other, ISIS today are not limited by the range of a crossbow and endurance of a horse. They can send their medieval ideals right into the living room of every sympathizer across the Globe. They can exploit the checks and balances of modern Democracy knowing we can only fight them within the constraints of domestic and international law and when in the right phase of an Election Cycle. Meanwhile, the sympathizer within our midst can jump on a budget airline and join the real fight or start a fire in his own (our) backyard. And then you add in Sunni v Shia, Persian v Arab, East v West and a few ‘minor mistakes’ by you know who in drawing lines down maps.
Overall, its a battle we still haven’t learnt how to fight. Then again, perhaps their weakness is they have now given themselves a name. Like AQ, we now have ‘something’ to label and strike for the next 10 years until a new mutation comes along. And I have no doubt the less democratic Governments also now have a new label they can use on anyone they don't like.
There is a role for the military and air power in all this buts its part of a gigantic bag of tricks that goes well beyound the military. It is my personal view the military and Security Services can only treat the symptoms by holding the line against any physical threat to provide a breathing space for other to act, but its people as diverse as computer nerds, social workers in an emigrant community, moderate religious leaders and even parents who need to fight this one...
What a Mess…
BP