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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services Expanded library hours begin today Churches start new year with messages of hope Get Up & Go: Jan. 2 Little Yaretzi is county's first baby of 2015 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Emergency services Community blog: Mentoring=Crime Prevention Two Eagle Point men charged in Lake Creek Road poaching case MADGE bust at Medford Walmart nets meth, $20,000 in cash Politics and Elections Councilman stirs online dust-up with anti-marijuana post State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change Education Traveling artist sets the stage for Ruch School amphitheater Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament Environment Monument expansion expected to increase tourism, protect resources Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams State News Oregon fans get married Rose Bowl parking lot Earthquake off coast shakes Humboldt County Stranded sea turtle recovers at Oregon aquarium Oregon minimum wage rises to $9.25 Storm brings snow, cold to West Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Jeannine Gardiner Dr. Kenneth Emerson Janet E. 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Sports Latest Stories And then there were two Challengers’ late charge falls short Buckeyes stun Alabama in Sugar Bowl Soft label fuels UO fire Rose, Bulls down Nuggets Varsity 541 College Sports And then there were two Buckeyes stun Alabama in Sugar Bowl Soft label fuels UO fire One to go Arizona at top of Pac-12 Pro Sports Rose, Bulls down Nuggets Capitals top Blackhawks 3-2 in Winter Classic LeBron to miss two weeks with injuries Ravens head of security charged with sex offense Lions’ Suh refuses to talk about incident Community Sports Business Latest Stories Positive Steps Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Milken economist headlines Southern Oregon Business Conference Ride & Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Real Estate News Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate People In Business Transportation Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Agriculture Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Opinion Latest Our View: Meeting in the middle keeps a mill open Michael Gerson: Clear choice, or clear trauma? 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Jan. 2 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 1 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 30 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Lifestyle Latest stories Fishing report: Jan. 2, 2015 Hobart Bluff offers top-notch views Lava Beds participates in annual bird count Get Out: Friday, Jan. 2, 2015 'Wild' about hiking Food Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Food for Thought: Tips for cooking when you have food allergies Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Kitchen Call: The comfort of creamy soups Community blog: Baking contest finalists combine cookies, candies Home and Garden Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Dear Monty: Can a rookie real estate agent be a good choice? 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Our View: Meeting in the middle keeps a mill open ... Unnatural corridor ... Expanded library hours begin today ... Our View: Meeting in the middle keeps a mill open ... Unnatural corridor ... ANOTHER VIEW Michael Gerson: Obama's careful war against the Islamic State Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 12, 2014 @ 2:00 am Updated Sep 30, 2014 at 6:52 PM Posted Sep. 12, 2014 @ 2:00 am Updated Sep 30, 2014 at 6:52 PM » Social News The most compelling and encouraging parts of President Obama's Islamic State speech — his intention to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the enemy, his pledge to hunt down its fighters and deny them "safe haven," his moral clarity on their "acts of barbarism" — also sounded least like Obama. Everyone — and I mean just about everyone on the planet — knows that he was more comfortable declaring that America had moved "off a permanent war footing" and that the war on terrorism, "like all wars, must end." This is not merely a statement of the obvious. It illustrates the main problem with Obama's current approach to the rise of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. His newly announced policy consists mainly of previously discarded policies that would have been easier to pursue in the past: Supporting moderate rebels in Syria. Asserting executive authority to bomb on both sides of the border. Actively cooperating with Iraqi and Kurdish forces to build their capacity. It is reasonable to question the level of Obama's enthusiasm for a series of options he has previously ignored, dismissed or even mocked. (It wasn't long ago — actually about five weeks — that he called proposals to arm the Syrian rebels the outgrowth of a "fantasy.") Tim Arango, The New York Times Baghdad bureau chief, recently observed: "After 2011, the administration basically ignored the country [Iraq]. And when officials spoke about what was happening there, they were often ignorant of the reality." This was the period in which al-Qaida in Iraq — then seriously degraded — began to recover, gained a foothold in Syria, changed its name, attracted jihadist recruits, gained battlefield experience and resumed the offensive. So Obama's policy shift is late. For this reason, it has a reduced chance of success. It has, so far, attracted a distressingly small coalition of the willing. But the essence of the policy is reasonable. In his speech, Obama correctly identified some of the most important lessons of 9/11. First: disrupt the immediate terrorist threat — particularly the thousands of jihadists in Syria and Iraq (hundreds with American, European or Canadian passports) who might attack targets in the West. They present a short-term prospect of violence — a mass shooting or a bomb on a busy street. (And they are not alone, since various al-Qaida-related groups, particularly al-Qaida in Yemen, have continued to plot against U.S. targets.) A second lesson: prevent the scale of the threat from growing in territorial safe havens. From the time that Osama bin Laden gave the go-ahead for his hijacking plan, it was more than two and a half years until the complex, coordinated attacks of 9/11. Large-scale violence generally requires training, time and a base of operations. America's goal is to keep terrorist leaders harried, moving and fearful for their lives — unable to do their day jobs, which includes planning spectacular acts of murder. Territorial havens magnify the terrorist threat. America has successfully implemented this type of strategy before. Following 9/11, American forces drove al-Qaeda out of its camps in Afghanistan. Intelligence operatives pursued its leaders to safe houses in Pakistan. After a few years of building up its intelligence capacity, America found ways to track and strike terrorist leaders in Pakistan's remote Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Obama now has an even more difficult job. It should be possible, over time, to increase the capabilities of Iraqi and Kurdish forces (which are numerically superior to the enemy) and roll back the gains of the Islamic State in northern and central Iraq. Both the Iraqi army and the Kurdish peshmerga were initially unprepared for a battle-hardened opponent — but might, conceivably, be made prepared, with sufficient American support and training. The worse problem lies in Syria. Rolling back a safe haven is not done from the air alone. And the forces on the ground are either weak (the moderate rebels) or directed by a war criminal and Iranian puppet (Syrian government forces). Obama has correctly ruled out a rapprochement with Bashar al-Assad. But there are serious questions about the capacity of moderate rebels eventually to hold a Syrian state together. Suffice it to say, the American campaign in Iraq and Syria will take years and hit major obstacles: lack of intelligence infrastructure, disappointing allies, badly flawed options in Syria. It is one thing to have a strategy; another to pursue it with creativity and absolute resolve. And there is basis for skepticism in Obama's hedged and careful war. Michael Gerson's email address is [email protected]. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 12, 2014 @ 2:00 am Updated Sep 30, 2014 at 6:52 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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