Air strikes in Syria: a reality check

By Maher Mughrabi
Updated August 29 2014 - 10:09am, first published 9:26am
The US military is strong - but there are limits to what it can achieve in the Mideast. Pictured: an FA-18C Hornet land on the USS George H.W. Bush.
The US military is strong - but there are limits to what it can achieve in the Mideast. Pictured: an FA-18C Hornet land on the USS George H.W. Bush.
Not always the answer: a US drone patrols the skies.
Not always the answer: a US drone patrols the skies.

While talk of a new "coalition of the willing" to tackle the threat posed by the militants of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria has already generated a flurry of activity in Western capitals including Canberra, there are a number of significant obstacles in the region itself to any large-scale military action and even to an expanded campaign of air strikes.