The Washington Examiner quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on the beheading of American journalist James Foley by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham:
Faysal Itani, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, predicts the beheading won’t change Obama’s calculus significantly.
“President Obama has quite clearly defined the mission in Iraq as mainly containment,” he said. “He is not trying to chase [the Islamic State] back to its place of origin. He realizes that would be quite costly.”
Kerry’s more aggressive statement likely reflects his more activist view of U.S. foreign policy.
“He can do that within limits,” Itani said, noting that it’s unlikely that Kerry’s comments signal a shift in Obama’s strategy or thinking.
A containment policy, Itani argued, would do nothing to weaken ISIS because its strength is based on control of territory.