The Coalition Strikes Back

The battle against the Islamic State is heating up

Dozens of Jordanian fighter jets bombed Islamic State training centers and weapons storage sites Thursday, intensifying attacks after the militants burned a captured Jordanian pilot to death and released the video tape on the Internet. + As part of the new campaign, Jordan is also attacking targets in Iraq, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told the Associated Press. The AP notes that up until now, Jordan had only struck targets in Syria, but not Iraq, as part of a U.S.-led military coalition. + U.S. involvement may intensify soon as well: Speaker John Boehner toldReuters on Thursday that he expects President Barack Obama to seek congressional authorization soon for using military force against the Islamic State group. + This could mean boots on the ground: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelositold reporters that lawmakers "had been talking to the White House about an authorization that would last three years" and that "there had not yet been decisions about the geographic scope of an authorization or what limits would be placed on combat troops." + After waging two expensive decades-long wars in the Middle East, the prospect of boots on the ground is, well, exhausting. But it may be warranted: A new report from the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child detailsthe terrible atrocities experienced by Iraqi children at the hands of the Islamic State group, including "accounts of mass executions of boys, beheadings and crucifixions."