The Islamic State and American National Security

The beheading of hostages and other acts of barbarism carried out by Islamic Republic militants do not constitute sufficient cause for direct American military involvement in the multi-sided armed conflicts underway in Iraq and Syria (2014). Conventional measures of American national interest do not warrant the expenditure of such blood and treasure as seem necessary to affect the outcomes of these conflicts. The idealistic goal of democracy promotion, a recurring theme in American foreign policy discourse, is unlikely to be achievable in the near future.