Writing for Bloomberg View, Stephen L. Carter argues that selecting the correct historical analog for ISIS is critical to understanding how to defeat them. He suggests the correct analog is the steppe nomads who swept into the Middle East and Europe from central Asia on their shaggy ponies - the Scythians, Huns and Mongols.
It is an interesting idea, but I'm not certain how analytically useful. Ultimately these groups were defeated, but not before the folks they invaded spent much treasure and lost many lives in the process.
I expect that portion of the analogy is apt. Before we're done, we'll probably spend much money and lose many soldiers wiping them out.
A warped idea: if Obama is correct that the apt analogy for ISIS is a "cancer," then was Assad correct to use a "chemotherapy" analog in the form of chemical weapons (poison gas) as a treatment? That's what we do to tumors - poison them - often nearly killing the patient/host in the process.
