Yesterday, Francois Hollande promised “merciless” retribution against the Islamic State. This evening, armed with American intelligence, the French Air Force dropped 20 bombs on two Isil positions in Raqqa – in what tomorrow’s newspapers will almost certainly portray as a swift and dramatic act of vengeance. But in fact, it won’t be much different to what the French have been doing in the last few weeks as one of the United States’ partners in what has been a year-long bombing campaign (along with the Saudis, Turks and Aussies). It’s a campaign that doesn’t seem to have been too effective in holding back the Islamic State.
The French targeted an Isil command centre, an arms depot, a recruiting post and a training camp. But, to be honest, such places would have been targets anyway – there have been more than 2,500 sorties in Syria the last few months. The RAF has supplied a pitiful 5pc of the sorties on the Iraqi side of the border (video above). The Pentagon has spent more than $5 billion trying to debilitate the Islamic State by bombing. At the last count it had hit 4,000 buildings, 4,000 fighting positions, 230 oil infrastructure targets and 126 tanks (see graphic, below).
Yet the jihadis seem rather good at carrying on regardless. And that, rather than a lack of Western bombs, is the real problem.
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