In September of 2014, President Obama went all the way around the block and back again trying to explain how the United States and its allies would destroy ISIS (also known as Daesh) without deploying soldiers. Airstrikes would do the trick. "No boots on the ground," he said.

After his proclamation, I wrote this:

The fact that ISIS controls Mosul is not compatible with the idea that air strikes alone can accomplish the president's plan. Ground troops will be required to ultimately accomplish the stated goal, and since we seem to be in this applecart pretty much by ourselves, it isn't difficult to guess which uniform those ground troops will be wearing.