This will be the greatest recruiting tool for ISIS they could imagine. Getting the US to drop bombs on them, which will taking out a few people, a few buildings, a few supplies is not going to scare them. But the propaganda value of the new videos, and tweets, and recruitment speeches will be huge. Get ready for an enormous increase in support for radicals by people who were formerly on the fence. Having your enemy attack you has been one of the best ways to create support for your side. Remember the Maine, Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor. When America believes it has been attacked we rally and doves become hawks. It will be no different in Islamic families. If we are seen as attacking there are many who will join to fight us who would not have felt compelled to fight in the absence of our military actions. So ISIS has succeeded by beheading 3 westerners in goading us into billions more spent, likely hundreds or thousands more deaths to fight an enemy we cannot defeat as it is not a nation but an idea. Until the local communities and people are willing to fight this idea themselves, and fight as hard as ISIS our opinion will not change the long term outcome. As in Vietnam the world's greatest military couldn't stop a rag tag outfit because the people who lived there didn't care to fight hard enough to stop Ho.

What is our exit strategy in this war against ISIS? When every Muslim who hates America is dead? Are you assuming that we are not creating more radicals than we are killing? When we take the war to them does that not make it more likely, not less likely, that they are going to take the war to us? Have the people of Gaza become less radical and less supportive of Hamas after repeatedly being subjected to Israeli responses to radical actions by Hamas's most militant fringes? Do Israelis become more considerate of Palestinian grievances when missiles are aimed at them or are they hardened in their resolve for revenge? So rather than cheer that we have done something, ask what have we accomplished and what shall we reap. I hope I am wrong.

What would YOU do?

The US was the ONLY western country involved. The five arab countries who ACTIVELY participated were UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. This will cause those on the fence to think twice about which side of the fence they want to be on.

I would like to see some bodies though in addition to buildings and training camps. I fear this may just drive them deeper. They certainly had notice we were coming.

I think this is something that needed to be done. At the same time, it scares the heck out of me. Every time we weaken one extremist group, another, far worse group takes its place. We've gone from the Taliban to al Queda to ISIL, each more strident and violent. Not sure what could be worse than ISIL, but I'm sure there is something.

One thing we really need to do is to help educate the people in the Middel East. If they could actually read the Koran rather than have just parts fed to them, it might stop a lot of the jihadists. The Koran celebrates the books of David, Moses, Abraham. The people being taught to hate need to know this. It is not a book of hate and revenge.

So, along with our iron fist, I firmly believe we need the velvet glove to bring these people into today's world.

This could be over in two weeks. Air alone is a joke. Go in with ground troops supported by air and wipe them out. Every time we do something we do not get the job done because of politics. We better wake up and put our full military force behind this and the politicians need to just get out of the way. This thing will last forever if we let the politicians run it. Two weeks that's all it would take. We need no one to help us either.

This is like saying we caused the town drunk to die because one of us opened a liquor store near his favorite gutter and he bought too much there.

Regarding "..they would not have FELT compelled to fight in absence of our military actions"??? So now we're analyzing the feelings of borderline savages with a stomach for joining up with beheading, crucifying butchers and rapists?

More enabling crap.....

I ask again. What do you think would be the best way to handle this?

Nuclear works for me

One thing has always puzzled me is to why we as a nation have to do the middle East's dirty work. Arab nations just site in the back ground and watch

Actually, it's not just their dirty work we are fighting for. I would much rather see us fight in their countries versus our own. We already are showing many signs of their ideology infiltrating the U.S. and starting to perform isolated acts of terrorism in our own States. They in turn disrupt, energy supplies in the world and effect many economies.

When a militant group openly states they want to attack other countries and ideologies (specifically us), then it's time to take a stand. On their soil, not ours.

I'm an old Vietnam era vet. If I was young and able, I would very much want to stop the spread of this idiotic mentality that they want to perpetuate on everyone in their barbaric brutal ways. You can't schmooz with these people to create a friendly relationship. Even the Pope recognizes this!!

Every retired military commander interviewed on any network has said that air strikes are used to support ground troops which are required to go door to door to root out these terrorists who hide in civilian neighborhoods and with children. Actually I cannot recall anyone saying that air strikes will do anything significant unless used to support ground troops. NBC interrupts programming with this breaking news of air strikes in an apparent attempt to make us think this will solve the ISIS problem? We should agree to send some ground troops only if our coalition partners commit to participating with significant ground troops. But if they participate, it should be a blitz similar to the surge which effectively ended the war. Otherwise this will drag on for years. Decisions are too political today and ergo ineffective on all levels.

My overall thought is this again proves an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. ISIS exists because a top level, calculated decision was made to pull all US troops from Iraq in 2011. Excuses were made as to why but basically the decision makers wanted out – long terms consequences be da**ed.

The saddest thing in watching the latest round of strikes is that you can tell it’s not really serious from a strategic perspective. The word ‘war’ is not allowed (which means we are not serious), Congress has not declared war, and the expectation is someone else will do the heavy lifting … ie ground troops. It makes people feel good for now to see dramatic TV shots of missiles being launched and such. However, until we are truly willing to wipe ISIS off the map, in the manner we totally destroyed the Nazi and Japanese war machines, this is just a problem deferred for our kids and grandkids. Yes, I know it’s a different enemy, but with the right leadership and will to succeed, it can be done.

In a sentence, this round of airstrikes / flash-bang is being “led” (if that’s the word) by the call of a very uncertain trumpet.

I join oliver North, the secy of defense and chmn of joint chiefs of staff....

Too little too late is better than nothing. The ball is rolling internationally, and who knew the usa still had the guts to stand up to evil and that anybody would follow our lead?

It has been painfully tough to watch the bumbling indecisive denials, but a few people in the usa have still got some sense. So I am having a good day.

If we would have just stayed out of their sand box
They would be content on just killing each other.
Revenge on our soil is the catalyst here
It's all about OIL OIL OIL

Maybe, but not in the usual sense. ISIS wants/needs the oil fields to fund themselves and their reign of terror/caliphate.

And I don't know how our military or any of us would run without oil.