At what point do we declare victory?
When ISIS have dispersed back into the general population?
What do we say when the Kurds demand independence. What if the Kurds want to include Kurdish areas in Turkey, Syria and Iran? How heavily do we arm them in their resistance to ISIS? At what point do Turkey and Iran get really nervous?
Do we stop as we did in Libya with an air campaign?
Just ask the Libyans, whose country is now teetering on the brink of disintegration. When Libya ousted Moammar Kadafi with NATO assistance, it produced a security vacuum that was quickly filled by armed men belonging to a dizzying array of militant factions. These militias have regional, tribal and ideological roots, but they all claim to be “protecting” the revolution and their fellow citizens. In reality, many militias are engaged in predatory and criminal activities, including extortion, smuggling and kidnapping.
Once we have trained and armed the "good" Syrian rebels and say Assad's regime falls to the onslaught, what then? Many of these rebel groups fight both with and against each other.
The objective is stop stop an evil and murderous group, and yes they horrify me, also I would like to see them gone from this planet permanently. However, who thinks this is actually going to happen?
What is the plan for the resulting power vacuum? A three State Iraq? The Shia and Sunni Iraqis have been steadily murdering each other in Iraq well before ISIS reared its ugly head.
How are we going to deal with the extreme Salifist rhetoric coming from some of our erstwhile allies? How are we going to deal with the ISIS affiliates now springing up?
How are we going to ensure that the vacuum left behind doesn't mean we are going to be talking about another air campaign 2 years down the road?
The yes we must do something now arguments have great moral weight, it's the what do we do with the mess left behind that has not been answered. Even if we destroy ISIS capabilities for the time being, what is the plan for the region once we have done so?
Have we done anything to actually change the violence already deeply entrenched in the region.
I would like this honestly put forward by all parties, what do we do after the bombing? I don't think any of the objectives can be met by anything but a ground war and an occupation either by the US, NATO, or the Arab league. Personally I think we will be discussing this sooner rather than later.
Bombing may appeal to some as a short term measure, but without resolving the underlying problems how many lives will it actually save?
So let us have some honesty here, what is the long term plan? Without one we are doomed to repeat, however since we have rarely had one in the wars that we have fought and are still fighting, I don't hold out any hope.