"Seven unlikely events in the fight against..." Topic

… Islamic State, and their likely outcomes.

It's easy to get depressed about the Middle East these days. The bloodshed continues unabated in Syria. Islamic State advances across Iraq, sacking towns and slaughtering innocents. Millions are refugees. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seems well ensconced in Damascus, on track to outlasting President Barack Obama in office.

But what also makes Middle Eastern politics so perplexing — or infuriating, depending on your perspective — is that events can change on a dime. Or dinar, if you prefer.

Despite what's in the movies, intelligence agencies don't have a crystal ball and can't predict the future. Intelligence is more an art than a science. As Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel noted in September, "The fact is you all know intelligence doesn't come wrapped in a package with a bow. It's a mosaic of many pictures of many factors."…"
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Amicalement
Armand

8th some sad sack official asks me for advise on resolving the issue (which is as bad/good as any it seems:-)
Cheers

9th?

All too often when it comes to Iraq, A'stan, etc. … it brings to mind what was said at Ben Tre in Vietnam … something like … "We have to destroy it to save it … " nhe.net/BenTreVietnam