Killing people. Raping people. Blowing up ancient artifacts. All in a day's stomach-churning work.
Is it worth sending US troops in? From a strict "are they an existential threat to us?" perspective, no. But it's certainly worth working with countries in the region to do something about them. Which may mean some strange bedfellows.
ISIS Destroys the Ancient Temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra – The Atlantic
UNESCO is calling ISIS’s reported destruction of the Temple of Baalshamin a war crime.
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Rereading this, ISIL's actions reminded me of the conquest of the Promised Land in the Old Testament — invade, kill the men and boys, rape / enslave the women, tear down the foreign temples (after stealing the temple artifacts).
Of course, a lot of other civilizations of the era (and later) did much the same thing (the Israeli kingdoms and peoples were similarly treated by Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans). I suspect ISIL would appreciate the thought of being considered Bronze Age in their ideological fervor.
No, it's not worth sending troops. It is with sending as bunch of "unfair drones" to user them into their afterlife…
+Nate Cunningham Drones make sense where they are applicable (hitting leadership). But ultimately boots will need to be on the ground; I just don't think they need to be American — in fact, that would probably be counter-productive.