The Obama administration has dug itself further in. Even after the Islamic State captured Ramadi and made significant gains in Syria, it refuses to develop a viable strategy for helping the effort to stop the group. While the airstrikes against the group are infrequent and uncoordinated, the administration would rather tweak its current strategy and bequeath the mess to the next administration. The Daily Beast talked with four defense officials who said Obama is doubling down on his strategy to “degrade and eventually destroy” the Islamic State. Despite pressure from the Pentagon, Obama will be staying the course he set. One official said, “I think this is driven by a sense that this not our fight and so we are just going to try to contain it and have influence where we can. This is a long fight, and it will be up to the next administration to tackle.” Another official added that the airstrikes are really for the benefit of the American people: “It’s a political response. They are doing ‘something’ to inoculate themselves from substantial criticism.” The question of America’s strategy against the Islamic State will become one of the cornerstones of the presidential debates. Candidates should be ready to give concrete solutions. More…