Prospect Debate: Should We Fight ISIS?

An exchange over whether the United States should try to press the fight against the Islamic State or abandon it entirely.

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In "Accelerating the Fight against ISIS" in the Winter issue, the Prospect's co-editor Paul Starr called for several steps to bring about ISIS's defeat in months rather than years. Jeff Faux argues the United States should consider the war "lost" and withdraw from the region. Starr responds.

JEFF FAUX

Response to Starr: The Case for Withdrawing From the War Against ISIS

Paul Starr wants Barack Obama to accelerate the war on ISIS. Starr's proposal would only prolong a war that we cannot win and that is unraveling the fabric of our democracy.

Impatient with the pace of the president's current re-escalation in Iraq and Syria, Starr echoes Hillary Clinton's demand for "more, faster." Read More.

PAUL STARR

Isolationism is No Answer

In his response to my article in the Winter issue, Jeff Faux calls for the United States to abandon the fight against ISIS and to withdraw from the Middle East. This is not a good idea.

ISIS and al-Qaeda, it should be unnecessary to say, represent real threats to the security of people around the world, including Americans. Neither terrorist group is going to stop killing infidels if the United States pulls out. Learning about their intentions is not difficult. Read More.

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