Imagine for a minute you're an expert in warfare and strategy.  You work at Central Intelligence.  Imagine you've attended the finest war colleges.  You're on a team with the world's preeminent experts at global military strategy.  You have access to unlimited funds and state of the art technology. 

Two airplanes smash into the world trade center.  As you rush to respond, another airplane smashes into the Pentagon.  Now, its Sept 12th.  The President and advisors tell you we were attacked by a terrorist group named Al Qaeda.  Its members work in secret cells, all around the world-- Africa, Asia, Europe, and in America.

They are small, clandestine cells, spread around the planet, operating closely with powerful supporters.  What do you do?

You'd gather them.

I'm going to propose a radical theory, that the military and intelligence services of the United States are not as stupid as our politicians.  ISIS is a perfect honeypot.  Its followers are flying from all around the world to gather.  The location? One of the lowest populated regions in the Middle East.  The terrain is flat, and wide open.  No jungles.  No trees.  No obstacles.  

The US lost many lives keeping ISIS out of Shia Iraq in the east at the battles for Fallujah.  We worked with Turkey to keep them out of Syria as they reached Aleppo. But they don't stop them in Raqqah.  

The US Strategy for the middle east is nothing short of ending the Sykes Picot borders, resolving the Shia/Sunni dispute (by creating an independent Mecca/Medina), & creating a Free Kurdistan and Balochistan. This is a map from 2006:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articlePictures/The%20Project%20for%20the%20New%20Middle%20East.jpg

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/plans-for-redrawing-the-middle-east-the-project-for-a-new-middle-east/3882