Richard Fernandez, the creator and writer of the essential conservative blog The Belmont Club, asks how can ISIS receive so many blows and not only survive those blows but thrive. He answers his own question by saying ISIS is resistant to whatever we throw at it because it is not a nation state. Westphalian nation states are very good at making war against other Westphalian nation states, but ISIS is an amorphous blob of fighters who, when hurt or defeated, simply reform and fight on. There is no capital city to be conquered, no Emperor or Tsar to hang, nothing to really get at with modern weapons. The thunderbolts of Zeus do not work against a force like ISIS or al Qaeda. It seems to me, then, that the solution is to make ISIS a Westphalian State and, Pygmalion-like, turn it into a puppet. It should be an easy task for Obama to assume the role of Pygmalion, for does he not already consider himself a Greek god? The problem arises when Obama, again Pygmalion-like, falls in love with his jihadi puppet.

Create a State Westphalian
From ISIS, like Pygmalion
Has done in times long past when there was Zeus
Make them a nation state
Give them their Caliphate
And then like Zeus a thunderbolt cut loose
Give them a lordly king
Line up to kiss the ring
And give them letter agencies and such
An EPA of course
For stocks and bonds a bourse
A crazy leftist polis like the Dutch
And once that this is done
You’ll find the war is won
Without a shot, for when push comes to shove
Obama can create
A modern Leftist state
And like Pygmalion, he will fall in love