In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris, President Obama on Monday ruled out sending ground troops to fight Islamic State, or ISIS. Two experts from Duke – Charles Dunlap and David Schanzer -- available to comment.• Quotes: "Before we put another young American in harms’ way on the ground, we ought to subject ISIS to the full might of U.S. and allied airpower. This is not the time for timidity; every member of ISIS should be living with the stark terror of instantaneous death from above," says Duke law professor Charles Dunlap Jr., an expert on warfare policy and strategy. "Given that ISIS has made it clear that they have a global agenda of terror, it’s understandable that consideration would be given to sending more U.S. ground troops to the Middle East. That may be necessary at some point, but before doing so, we ought to use America’s airpower to the fullest, which hasn’t happened yet.""As retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula -- one of the architects of the air wars against Iraq and Afghanistan -- points out, you can’t defeat ISIS with a ‘drizzle’ of airpower; it needs to be a thunderstorm.""While air operations have become a bit more robust under Air Force Lt. Gen. CQ Brown, who recently took command, they are still but a fraction of what they were in previous Middle East operations. Brown’s seniors at U.S. Central Command and at the Pentagon have not exhibited the kind of vision or fortitude to wage war as it needs to be waged against this very dangerous enemy.""No one is suggesting not abiding by the law of war, but overly restrictive rules of engagement allow ISIS to avoid the kind of air-delivered devastation that would actually operate to save more civilians over time."• Bio: Charles Dunlap Jr. is a professor of the practice at Duke Law School and executive director of Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security; he specializes in warfare policy and strategy, cyber-warfare, military commissions, counterinsurgency, nuclear issues and air power; Dunlap is a former deputy judge advocate general of the U.S. Air Force who retired from military in June 2010 as a major general.http://www.law.duke.edu/fac/dunlap• Archive video interview (different subject): http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/13737677/• For additional comment, contact Dunlap at:(919) 613-7233; dunlap@law.duke.edu---Media Contact: Forrest Norman(919) 613-8565norman@law.duke.eduDavid Schanzer• Quotes:"Despite the horrific attacks, the reasons against a large-scale land invasion by U.S. and NATO forces against ISIS in Iraq and Syria remain," says David Schanzer, an associate professor of the practice at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security. "Such an invasion will deepen the extremist narrative of clash of civilizations between the West and Muslims, will insert our militaries into a deep, nasty and unwinnable civil war, and the invading force will eventually be responsible for reconstructing a semblance of order and governance in a chaotic region infected with sectarian divisions.""We should remember that ISIS desperately wants to satisfy its blood lust fighting against Americans on its home turf. However, when ISIS is committing atrocities against or being attacked by other Muslims, it has a much harder time explaining how it is advancing the cause of Muslims or representing Islam in any comprehensible way.""As unsatisfying as it is, the basic contours of the current strategy are right. We will just need to do more and with a greater sense of urgency: Keep encouraging and supporting those local forces willing to fight, conduct airstrikes against as many ISIS targets as can be found, and maintain pressure against both ISIS and the Assad regime to force a political settlement in Syria.""ISIS will remain a formidable force until a political settlement takes the steam out of the complex, sectarian, multi-party conflict in Syria."• Bio:David Schanzer is an associate professor of the practice at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, and director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, a collaboration between Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and RTI International. He is an expert on counterterrorism and homeland security. From 2003-2005, Schanzer was a Democratic staff director for the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.http://sanford.duke.edu/people/faculty/schanzer-david-h• Archive video interviews (on Boston Marathon bombings): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-5LZuoZpIEhttp://live.huffingtonpost.co...• For more comment, contact David Schanzer at:(919) 613-9279, (919) 357-0128 (cell); schanzer@duke.edu---Media Contact:Karen Kemp(919) 613-7394karen.kemp@duke.edu _ _ _ _Duke experts on a variety of other topics can be found at http://newsoffice.duke.edu/resources-media/faculty-experts. Note to broadcast editors: Duke provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews, as well as a digital studio for interviews by Skype or Google Hangout. We are also equipped with ISDN connectivity for radio interviews. These services are usually available during normal business hours. Broadcast reporters should contact Forrest Norman or Karen Kemp to arrange an interview.
