With ISIS growing in strength, numbers and territory and Russia’s Vladimir Putin deploying men and tanks into Ukraine, President Obama dithers, seemingly unable or unwilling to make a decision — any decision.

The beheading of an American news correspondent a week or so ago prompted other top U.S. officials to state that ISIS constitutes a direct threat to the U.S. and that we must strike ISIS bases and support facilities in Syria in order to defeat (not just contain) ISIS. Even Secretary of State John Kerry said that ISIS must be defeated.

The president said in a news conference that the U.S. does not have a strategy yet for confronting ISIS in Syria, yet the president has known about the ISIS threat in Syria for about four years, even calling them a “JV organization” about a year ago.

Still no strategy?

ISIS is the most violent, bloodthirsty and exceedingly cruel (call it evil epitomized) organization in the world today. Even al-Qaida is afraid of ISIS.

If the U.S. fails to take a stand against evil, what has happened to the national sense of justice and honor? If not us, who? What will happen to the world at large without strong leadership in the U.S.?

Also, the U.S. had also better shore up military support to the former Eastern European members of NATO, or face a situation where Russia’s Putin decides to re-annex these countries back into Russia’s sphere of influence, as he is doing in Ukraine.

Otherwise …

Richard Grover, Mason Township