Thus The Wall Street Journal today. “US-led airstrikes designed to serve notice on Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria have also delivered a sobering message to Washington and its allies: breaking the militants’ grip will be every bit as difficult as they feared,” elaborates the newspaper. Oops! But it was clear from the start that airstrikes would not be enough. Without ground troops, there is little to be gained. Both the American and British military chiefs thus offered the possibility of a bit more than airstrikes, but they were pushed to the side. Barack Obama was adamant that no ground troops would be sent to the Middle East. The only question is whether or not he was deluded about America’s air power. I rather doubt it, though. The airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria were but a symbolic gesture on his part. They also helped build a military alliance including many countries from the beleaguered region. In addition, they provided a good opportunity to test some weapons systems of recent vintage. Given America’s growing isolationism, these were objectives worthy of note both at home and abroad. Period.