&gt; That risk will always be there no matter what we do.<p>Yeah, you&#x27;re correct. I meant significant risk. It&#x27;s always a risk.<p>&gt; They kill people because it serves their goals indirectly, it allows them to recruit, get more funding and credibility.<p>The stated goal of Islamic State is to establish a caliphate across the world. The stated values and de facto policy of Islamic State is in opposition to Western values such as freedom of speech, press, religion, and association.<p>Yes, these attacks also double as recruiting tools.<p>&gt; we will be a willing partner of IS doing exactly what they want us to do.<p>Who gives a fuck what Islamic State wants us to do? This is the most intellectually bankrupt argument tossed around. It literally makes no sense <i>at all</i>.<p>We need to do what is strategically sound.<p>If that happens to be what IS wants, why should that matter one iota beyond the strategic calculus?