i think the ritually murdered him because he was American and because it would be such a media sensation. They know theyll get the media coverage world wide for it, and that works for them far more than the murder of Iraqi. Prisoners etc

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
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I'm surprised by all the calls to wipe them out. I would ask exactly who would you wipe out? People in these situations, when confronted by a force with overwhelming firepower, simply fade away and are driven underground. They begin using guerilla tactics and organising and funding themselves as an Islamic terrorist organisation. Before you know it the problem has spread worldwide to every city/airport/train station/school/university - you get the picture.
My suggestion would be to combine a hard response with a deal of some kind. Maybe there could be some legitimate Muslim state run by ISIS where people could go and choose to live under Sharia law etc. if they so wished? Part of the deal could be to hand over anyone proven guilty of atrocities to be tried under international law at the Hague, or some such thing; rather than renditioning. The hard part would be getting them to talk which is why I would first assemble a huge force so they would know we mean business.

Red and Blue Army!

I thought that is whats been happening.

always a Norwood boy, where ever I live.

As they are determined to live in a sharia law infested caliphate then let them create one - move all of them in from whichever country they currently call home and then they can stone each others wives to death and cut off each others heads for blasphemy to their hearts content

As far as the rules go, it's a website not a democracy - Hambo 3/6/2014

This is basically what I mean. Let the radicals have their state and then police the borders really well - keep them there and out of more integrated cultures.

Red and Blue Army!

Problem is that they're in 'bandit' country. That part of Iraq the US had trouble suppressing Insurgent activity with the surge. I'm not sure we could secure sufficient logistics to mount any real campaign without substantial re-deployment into Iraq.

Special forces aren't really suited to full scale engagements, and with ISIS firmly encamped in a number of cities and limited friendlies on the ground, the danger is probably too high to risk small scale forces without suppressing the enemies capacity to move freely. Intelligence gathering and small scale operations generally work better with available support active in the area.

Its unlikely the Kurds will go further than Mosul (and they probably won't give it back afterwards) whilst ISIS have driven back attempts by the Iraqi military to push into Tikrit.

ISIS aren't the only group active in that area, there are still Baathist factions and more traditional sunni insurgent groups that are very well established, and know the area and people well - and for them ISIS represent a better option than the Iraqi Shia dominated government. ISIS are a convenient ally and they're not going to side with the US or UK unless we give them a Sunni state.

Assad, I don't disagree there. It was on the cards that any civil war in Syria would have massive repercussions for Iraq. The rebel forces in Syria, aren't all fundamentalist. It could also take six months to a year for Assad to take back Syria, possibly longer - the capacity of the Syrian Army is very reduced, and its ability and Assads willingness to retake and effectively hold the border areas is limited.

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
[Link]