How to stop Islamic State: go for the roots, not the head

Bombing runs on IS targets are dismissed as ‘shock and yawn’: we need those living under IS to rebel

Columnist Venetia Rainey

Beirut - How do you solve a problem like the Islamic State? Of course they have to be stopped from expanding and threatening what little stability remains in this region. But how? With bombs? With boots on the ground? With financial sanctions? With a media campaign to counter their recruitment propaganda?

Given the Islamic State’s continuing gains in Iraq’s Anbar province and Syria’s Kurdish city of Kobani - despite a campaign of targeted air strikes derided as "whack-a-mole" and "shock and yawn" – all these measures are necessary, including boots on the ground. Even at the risk of aggravating the weeping wounds that contributed to the current situation.

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Venetia Rainey is a Middle East correspondent for TheWeek.co.uk based in Lebanon where she works for the national English-language paper, The Daily Star. Follow her on Twitter @venetiarainey.