When asked what the Pentagon is doing to counter the propaganda produced by the ISIL, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby kept his statement brief – citing “a cyber component” – but admitting the United States has not stemmed the number of jihadists joining ISIL. Furthermore, bombing runs alone have not stopped the growth of the group. “We don’t have the methods to garner great specificity about their recruiting efforts,” Kirby said. “We still believe that they are able to recruit, and continue to recruit. They are facing some attrition, obviously, through these operations: not just from the air, but from the ground. But there’s no question that they still possess the ability to reconstitute their manpower and that’s just – again, that’s an indication of the strength of their ideology right now, which is why we’re working hard to counter that, and the fact that this is going to be a long struggle.” Is it a long struggle because we are fighting against the idea that it’s okay to rape, torture and kill those who don’t share the Islamist belief? Or is it a long struggle because the Obama administration’s limited war is letting ISIL’s beliefs grow? More…