Some 19 months ago I wrote in this column that we needed to deploy a reinforced Armored Brigade (6,000 troops) to Iraq and eliminate the ISIS threat. At that point it could have been accomplished with little difficulty and minimal loss. To defeat the current ISIS/ISIL threat, it will require in excess of 45,000 troops.

History tells us that operations of this nature are often necessary; post-war operations were conducted in Germany to stamp out the burning embers of the National Socialist movement.

ISIS/ISIL will haunt us for decades; our short-sighted policy that we are done with ground combat in Iraq was necessary for President Obama’s politically correct programs. The President desperately wanted to reduce the military strength and budget and that could not be done if we were involved on the ground in Iraq.

Involvement in Iraq by maintaining a small stabilizing force for years was necessary, in the same manner we were involved in post-war Germany, Japan, Korea, The Philippines, Italy, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Honduras, Panama and others. We can debate forever the issue of going into Iraq in the first place, but that is academic at this point. We did invade and we owed it to the people to stay and assist them in the same way we did in World War II with the Marshall Plan.

The rise of ISIS/ISIL in Iraq falls directly at the feet of President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The progressive movement will disagree and say they simply followed the Bush plan for withdrawal. President Bush’s plan never advocated the total withdrawal of our forces; it always maintained a small training and security presence and did not rule out ground combat operations. President Obama and Secretary Clinton could have destroyed an infant ISIS/ISIL before it expanded into a major threat to the United States and indeed the entire world.

The ISIS/ISIL invasion of Iraq was for the first few months in the northwestern portion of Iraq, an area that was lightly populated and mostly open desert, ideal for armored operations. We could have closed with, killed, captured or otherwise destroyed ISIS/ISIL in Iraq. We did not, and the Islamic world sees ISIS/ISIL as victorious over the allied forces whom they maintain are assaulting Islam.

The perceived victory of the warriors of god over the godless infidels is an invaluable recruiting tool for radical Islam. In an Al Jazeera poll, 81% of those polled support ISIS/ISIL — not surprising as they are seen as the victors. Nothing succeeds like success, and our inaction is seen as a glorious victory for the forces of Islam over the infidels. Islamic victories are a recruiting tool for the radical forces and their rapid growth should concern us all.

American pin-prick type air strikes are an irritant to ISIS/ISIL, but not a factor in their military operations. The President’s spokesman actually bragged that our air operations destroyed six pickup trucks and killed eleven of our enemies; that only leaves 49,989 fighters. In order to stop the rise of ISIS/ISIL, we must deal them a major defeat. General William Tecumseh Sherman said, “War is all hell;” his point was that to defeat an enemy you must deal them a devastating number of defeats, destroy their morale and the morale of those who support them.

Now is an excellent opportunity to destroy the myth of invincibility bestowed upon ISIS/ISIL in the minds of the Islamic world. We deploy an armored heavy corps (45,000 troops) and let the Russians fight the ISIS/ISIL forces inside Syria. With no safe haven the defeat will be devastating to the entire Islamic radical movement.

The downside will be President Assad remains in power; so be it, our work is in Iraq. Again we can debate the history of our involvement in Iraq, but as General Powell said, we broke it, it is ours to fix. We can fix Iraq and deal a massive blow to radical Islam. This course of action will not be embraced by the majority of the American people; however, great leaders sometimes need to do what is right and not what is popular.

ISIS/ISIL forces have murdered, raped, looted and incinerated thousands in the name of Allah; they are growing at a rate of 200 each and every day. Islamic radicals are being trained and deployed worldwide to answer the call of Allah to Jihad against the Infidels.

The United States has been fighting these people in one form or another since 1801 and the First Barbary War. In the Marine Corp hymn, ”to the shores of Tripoli” refers to one of the many battles the Corp and the United States fought with Islamic Terrorists. Two hundred and fourteen years of some these people hating us and attacking us should make us understand some of them will never love, like or approve of us. Destroying ISIS/ISIL will set the jihad back and relegate the level of popular support to a small percent of radicals and not the 81% majority it currently enjoys.

ISIL/ISIS is a growing cancer that we cannot ignore, or it will continue to metastasize to the world’s vital organs. Every day we do nothing will insure we pay a much larger price in blood and treasure for our inaction.