May 31, 2015
Kilcullen says the West now faces “a larger, more unified, capable, experienced and savage enemy, in a less stable, more fragmented region”. His answer, for now: a heavier air campaign against IS, and giving Western forces the authority to fight IS offensively, not only in training roles. “Hawkish”, he admits, but why so tough? Because if the West doesn’t go full bore against IS, Iran surely will, giving Tehran reign over huge tracts of the Middle East. “We have to go hard now,” Kilcullen warns ominously, “or we’ll end up having to go in much harder, and potentially on a much larger scale, later – or accept defeat.”