President Obama’s bombing of ISIS in Syria has prompted opposition from many prominent liberals, blasting what they regard as a doomed strategy. “American policy on this issue has so far been both incomprehensible and counterproductive,” writes the Intercept’s Murtaza Hussain.

But it is only incomprehensible and counterproductive if one assumes that the US government is sincerely trying to “eradicate” ISIS. The standard liberal analysis has American elites bumbling into another war, oblivious to the consequences, unwittingly acting against their own interests.

How much death and destruction would American terror warriors have to cause before their ostensible opponents rejected their claims of noble intent? During the thirteen years of the “war on terror,” actions of the United States government have consistently and predictably strengthened anti-American terrorist groups. To chalk this all up to stupidity — rather than unstated imperial imperatives — is to choose ignorance.