U.S. Bombing Of Syria Has Begun - Is It A Good Idea?

We learned yesterday that the United States has begun bombing ISIS targets in Syria -- using both cruise missiles and bombs from planes. And politicians from both parties have jumped on the bandwagon to support the bombings -- along with the mainstream media, who beat the war drums all day long. I'm not so sure this is an event to be celebrated, or even approved.

Don't get me wrong. I don't feel sorry for ISIS. They are a brutal and frightening group, and if they all died today I would shed no tears for them. But I do have some questions about this new war effort.

I am a little comforted by the fact that a few Arab nations (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain) took part in the bombing, but I question just how committed they are to fighting ISIS. Are they going to continue the bombing, or is this just short-term cover for the United States (which is carrying the bulk of the loan)? Are they willing to put soldiers on the ground to fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq? We can wound ISIS and its allies, perhaps seriously, through bombing -- but it will take ground troops to defeat them.

I'm not even sure the four Arab nations who joined in the bombing have the troops necessary to do the job. They are rich nations, but have small populations. I doubt any ground effort can even be conducted without the participation of much larger populated Arab countries like Turkey and Egypt -- and so far, neither has expressed a willingness to participate.

I keep hearing from both politicians and the media about the great danger ISIS poses for the United States. That is silly, and those saying it should be ashamed of themselves. The military arm of ISIS poses no danger at all to the United States. They are not going to invade this country (or any of its possessions). The only threat they pose is a terrorist threat -- and completely wiping out the military arm of ISIS will not eliminate the terrorist threat (which can be posed by a few individuals who hold no territory at all).

I still wonder if we even have a dog in this fight. Even though the government and the media completely ignore it, this is basically a religious war between two factions of muslims (Sunnis and Shiites). If ISIS and its Sunni allies win, they are certainly not going to be an ally of the United States. And if the Shiites win, it means that Assad will control Syria and Iran will largely control Iraq. And neither of those is likely to be a U.S. ally either.

The truth is that we have no real ally in this religious war. And although the United States is a secular nation, most of the muslim world views us as a christian nation. And too many Arabs on the street are going to view this as just one more christian crusade against the muslim world. The only thing we are assured of doing in this conflict is to create more enemies for this country.

And don't think this is going to be a quick war. One Pentagon official, talking about the bombing, said we should be thinking of the timeline in years -- not days or weeks. Our government has just started another endless war -- and one we cannot win.