President Obama recently offered his so-called “plan” for fighting ISIS. Sadly, it was the equivalent of a cup of water to douse an inferno. In his plan, President Obama called for a 4- step approach to “degrade and destroy” ISIS. He called for continued airstrikes against ISIS, in both Iraq and Syria, while stressing no “boots on the ground”; funding for a “broad coalition of forces” to confront ISIS on the ground; increased American intelligence and counter-terrorism activities; and continued humanitarian aid to those being attacked by ISIS. While this is better than his immortal remark that “we don’t have a strategy,” or his call to make ISIS a “manageable problem,” it simply isn’t enough.

ISIS is a terrorist organization that has learned from Al Qaeda’s failure. ISIS operates as a fully formed army, as well as a “resistance” group. They can both march across the land, sowing death and destruction, and blend in with the population, making it impossible to find them from the air. The only way to root out this infestation is, regrettably, by sending in American troops to do the dirty work. It’s a terrible, but necessary, military truth. President Obama doesn’t seem to understand this. The only thing he sees is a mid-term election coming up where he could lose his last few allies in Congress. He’s putting politics ahead of doing what is necessary to defend freedom. Allowing ISIS to grow will only mean more pay the price for his incompetence – including Americans.

The flaws in Obama’s speech were legion. Not once did he mention who would be a part of his theoretical “broad coalition.” The last time President Obama tried to create a coalition of forces, in response to the Syrian chemical weapons red line, he failed quite miserably. There is no reason to believe that President Obama will be able to persuade other countries to hop on board the war train this time. Few nations follow someone who cannot lead.

President Obama also talked about arming the “moderate Syrian rebels,” or as he referred to them just a few days ago, “former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth.” This is pure fiction. Assad’s army and the more radical rebels have virtually annihilated the “moderate” Syrian rebels. Just a few weeks ago, the moderate rebels lost Aleppo, their last stronghold. On top of that, ISIS managed to get all of the advanced firepower they have now from the retreating Iraqi army that we armed. We spent $25 billion to train the Iraqi army, over almost 10 years. It collapsed the first time they were confronted. ISIS is not going to be stopped by Syria’s version of the Minutemen! We don’t have time to spend years, or even months, teaching people how to fight. The threat is now, and we need to face it now.

ISIS is a hurricane of death growing stronger each day. We cannot afford to respond with soft, measured tones, drop a few bombs, send some guns, and hope that other countries will fight for us. We have the greatest armed forces this world has ever seen. We have the power to crush ISIS. We are the only nation that can or will fight on behalf of others. Half-measures always fail. ISIS will be stopped when the President realizes that America must act. For the sake of the innocent lives being taken every day, let us hope that is soon.