Finally, I'd try my Sun-Tzu. And this is counter-intuitive but I think it is the only way to "reduce, dismantle, and destroy" ISIS. And ISIS, remember, is not only kicked out of the Al Qaida network, but they also work very differently from Al Qaida.
Whereas, for example, Al Qaida works slowly, sending in infiltrators to gradually influence the locals in a town or city, ISIS works fast, with relatively large, mobile contingencies, traveling in the open, sometimes with their fear black flag flying high.
Anyway, my Sun-Tzu is a bit counter-intuitive because it DOES NOT deal with DEFENDING TOWNS AND CITIES, the towns and cities that ISIS MUST TRAVEL BETWEEN, from one to the next, in substantial contingencies in order to take and hold...
America and its allies need to use, as Mr. Perpetual-War-MacCain said, SPECIAL OPS FORCES.... in units of 100-200.
Again, DON'T PUT THEM NEAR TOWNs, MUCH LESS IN TOWNS OR CITIES.
Rather, these special forces --- make them 100-200 or so but arm them to the teeth, including access to fast moving Black Hawks, with drones surveying over-head....
These SPECIAL FORCES units need to be STATIONED, in staggered manner, along major access routes, road, and highways that ISIS MUST USE, in their endeavors to going from one city or two to another.
These special forces need to be in TOTALLY OPEN, FLAT TERRAINS where our satellites, drones, and high-flying spy and fixed-wing fighter jets could overlook and could support, at a moment's notice.... open and flat terrains where you could see ISIS COMING 5-10 MILES IN ADVANCE...
Forget about doing DOOR-TO-DOOR as we did, in Anbar some ten years ago, where thousands of American troops were KILLED and tens of thousands more wounded... It's not worth it and it's NOT EFFECTIVE...
These small, heavily armed, MOBILE and STAGGERING POSITIONED special forces main objective is the DISRUPT AND TO KILL ANY AND ALL WHO TRAVEL FROM ONE CITY TO ANOTHER.
Iraq is not in Southeast Asia, where you have dense jungles, deep valleys and high mountain ranges to serve as cover, as you sneak up on your opponents. In the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq, it's mostly rolling sandy mountains and hills, with little to no deep, dense vegetation to block your view of on-coming ISIS.
If ISIS travel in groups of only 2-5 to hide their traveling footprint, to hopefully hide from drones, satellites, and other surveying equipment, they are NO MATCH FOR 100-200 HEAVILY ARMED AMERICAN SPECIAL FORCES.
Indeed, even if they come at the Americans with 500-1000 strong, in their Toyota Tundras.... 100 to 200 American special forces should have LITTLE PROBLEM handling them, in open terrains... given the fact that we have radar, drones, satellites, spy planes, Apaches, Black Hawks, Osprey, etc. that could be accessed at a moment's notice, for contingency purposes (evacuation or re-enforcement)...
That is why, again, these small and highly mobile and heavily armed 100-200 special forces units need to be STATIONED in staggered format along, flat, open terrain MAJOR ROUTES connection important towns and cities that ISIS want to take and must take, in order to boast their successes.
But if they HAD VERY DIFFICULT PROBLEM TRAVELING, in substantial units, from Point A to Point B, do you think they would be able to take and hold towns and cities, AS THEY HAVE BEEN DOING, with ease?
No!
Let the LOCAL IRAQI and SYRIAN and KURDISH forces fight near or IN TOWNS and CITIES, where they live.... where they KNOW the citizens and the LAY-OUTS of the towns and cities....
American and ally SPECIAL FORCES should only play SUPPORTING ROLES in making it VERY, VERY DIFFICULT for ISIS to move from one city, one town, to the next, in their conquest activity...
Notice that if you can't easily travel THROUGH FAST HIGHWAYS AND FREEWAYS AND OTHER ACCESS ROUTES between two cities or towns, that it is also very, very difficult for you to conquer and subjugate those towns and their people?
If Generalissimo were to ask for my opinion, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO FIGHT AND WIN, in the long run.
Training 5,000 "Free Syrian Army" rebels, taking ONE YEAR, as the FSA laughs --- yeah, even they laugh at the idea, because it is so ridiculously stupid ---- is just NOT GONNA TO JACK to "dismantle and destroy" ISIS, especially if they keep winning and expanding their territorial holdings, with MILLIONS OF PEOPLE under their use and exploitation...
The KURDS are the most loyal American friends and the most able fighters, and even they can't make a dent against ISIS, since they lack aerial ability, tanks, and heavy artillery... and all they do is FIGHT DEFENSIVE BATTLES, with ISIS probing them from different directions all the time.
The Iraqi soldiers, after close to $30 BILLION Americans having spent on training them for over 10 years.... they are NOT reliable and can't fight worth much... that's why with MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS of them in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city... all ran away, when ISIS sent no more than a few thousand then-lightly-armed men at the Iraqis...
So, training 5,000 Syrian fighters --- even if you could find "those we trust," and that's very, very questionable --- to go after death defying 20,000 to 35,000 disciplined ISIS.... that's just a fantasy.... especially if you drop no more than a few to a dozen or so bombs and missiles on them, PER WEEK, and they have STEADILY EXPAND THEIR TERRITORIES since you started bombing them...
As I see it, as this Sun-Tzu wannabe me see it, if we used small, well placed SPECIAL FORCES as I said... to TOTALITY of soldiers Americans would use to disrupt and to ultimately destroy ISIS is no more than 10,000... at the very most...
Again, it would be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for small or even large ISIS forces to move effectively against heavily armed, extremely mobile, incredible disciplined AMERICAN SPECIAL FORCES in OPEN TERRAINS where chances are we will see ISIS coming many, many miles away... with them having MUCH MORE DIFFICULT seeing us at the same distance, simply because we have so many advanced planes and technologies they don't, with us DOMINATING THE SKY ABSOLUTELY as we do...
If we don't do SOMETHING LIKE THIS --- and chances are Obama is NOT going to do it ---- Obama's magical tactical and long term strategy of dismantling and defeating ISIS WILL REMIND NO MORE THAN A FANTASY of a school boy who has no idea what he's got himself involved in, when he declared war on an a smart, adaptable enemy like ISIS...