President Obama has announced that a broad coalition of nations has joined him to fight the ISIL/ISIS terrorist army in Iraq and Syria. However, closer examination of the realities of this “coalition” indicate it is a phony one, probably invented to try and convince American voters Obama is actually “doing something.”

The first link reports that nine Islamic nations have joined Obama’s coalition. However, I was watching a TV news program tonight which reported that none of these Islamic nations (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE, etc.) has agreed to send any troops or warplanes to battle ISIL/ISIS. If that continues to be the case, Obama’s coalition is truly a phony one. The second link reports Turkey, a NATO ally, flat out refused to help or join Obama’s coalition. The third link reports that fellow NATO allies, the UK and Germany, have also refused to help Obama’s “coalition” with any air strikes. I did see one report France might help with air strikes, but they may back out when they see no one else is willing to join Obama’s coalition. So, until other nations actually send warplanes, troops, tanks, etc. to fight ISIL/ISIS, there is no real coalition at all to fight this terrorist army.

Why aren’t any of these nations willing to join in a coalition to fight a group of terrorists who crucify, behead, execute, take captive and bury alive their enemies? Given their malignant nature, why can’t Obama get any other nations to help fight them? I think the main reason is that Obama is such a weak and indecisive leader that no nation is willing to join a coalition where Obama might just change his mind and leave his allies hanging on a limb. Also, the fact that Obama’s own air strikes against ISIL/ISIS have been relatively minor pinprick attacks vs. ISIL/ISIS’ pickup trucks and captured Humvees, other nations can easily see that Obama isn’t yet serious about really defeating ISIL/ISIS. If Obama was serious about destroying ISIL/ISIS, he would be sending strategic bombing strikes of B-52 and B-1 bombers from Diego Garcia to hit the ISIL/ISIS armored columns, troops concentrations and known locations of their leaders with real “shock and awe” attacks. As long as Obama is unwilling to order such serious attacks vs. ISIL/ISIS, why should other nations actually join his “coalition” with anything other than lip service?

The ISIL/ISIS threat is growing. The second link reports the CIA estimates that the number of ISIL/ISIS fighters could now be as high as 31,500. The only real “boots on the ground” fighting ISIL/ISIS are the Kurdish Peshmerga, who have fought tenaciously against ISL/ISIS and who have admirably hosted many tens of thousands of refugees from many tribes and religions who are fleeing ISIL/ISIS. The fourth link, a column from USA Today, advocates further motivating the Kurdish army to fight ISIL/ISIS by sending them the right military hardware and giving the Kurds their own nation. I heartily support this suggestion! The only meaningful ally the USA has in fighting ISIL/ISIS is the Kurds, and they should be rewarded with a nation of their own. The army of the Iraqi central government, beholden to Iran, has shown much cowardice so far in its war vs. ISIL/ISIS. The Iraqi army has thrown away its weapons and fled from ISIL/ISIS when the terrorists were just a small force. The Iraqi army defending Mosul far outnumbered and outgunned the ISIL/ISIS terrorists, but the Iraqi army ran like scared rabbits. Do you think they will do better now that ISIL/ISIS is a much larger and stronger force?

So, the bottom line is that there is no “coalition”‘ actually fighting ISIL/ISIS yet. Before the speech by Obama, ISIL/ISIS was being fought by Kurdish boots on the ground and small US tactical airstrikes. After the speech by Obama, ISIL/ISIS is being fought by Kurdish boots on the ground and small US tactical airstrikes. What has changed? Nothing that I can see.

From a biblical point of view, we still need to watch to see if ISIL/ISIS actually turns into a Caliphate and/or a nation state. If it does, it may be a candidate to fulfill the “king of the south” prophecy in Daniel 11:40-43. It is too early to know.

There used to be a saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I am going to offer a paraphrase which I think is apt for our modern world. “When the going gets tough, Obama goes golfing.”

  1. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/world/middleeast/us-and-allies-form-coalition-against-isis.html?_r=0
  2. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-says-isis-has-doubled-its-ranks/
  3. http://hotair.com/archives/2014/09/11/britain-we-wont-take-part-in-syria-air-strikes/
  4. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/09/09/kurdistan-kurds-independence-peshmerga-isis-islamic-state-iraq-column/15360241/