Wowee! Now, that's some brand strength

The Islamic State is the outfit to join for a very large number of restless young men around the world:

 Foreign fighters are streaming into Syria and Iraq in unprecedented numbers to join the Islamic State or Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or other extremist groups, including at least 3,400 from Western nations among 20,000 from around the world, U.S. intelligence officials say in an updated estimate of a top terrorism concern.

Intelligence agencies now believe that as many as 150 Americans have tried and some have succeeded in reaching in the Syrian war zone, officials told the House Homeland Security Committee in testimony prepared for delivery on Wednesday. Some of those Americans were arrested en route, some died in the area and a small number are still fighting with extremists.

Post-America doesn't have a real good handle on exactly how many of these guys are Westerners:

As for foreign fighters, officials acknowledge it has been hard to track the Americans and Europeans who have made it to Syria, where ISIS is the dominant force trying to overthrow the government of President Bashar Assad. The U.S. Embassy in Syria is closed, and the CIA has no permanent presence on the ground.

"Once in Syria, it is very difficult to discern what happens there," according to Wednesday's prepared testimony of Michael Steinbach, the FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism. "This lack of clarity remains troubling." 

And, as we know, our ability to keep an ear to the ground in Yemen and Libya is, um, diminished now.

And I don't think the Most Equal Comrade's decidedly under-baked request for military force is going to scare off the eager young recruits:

 While preventing full-time boots on the ground, or “enduring offensive ground operations,” the bill would allow for the existing 3,000 advisers helping the Iraqi military, as well as special operations forces, airstrike coordinators and Search and Rescue teams. Those exceptions would also expire in 2018, which would prompt another round of congressional approval.

Notably, the proposal would break from the opinion of Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey, widely regarded on both sides of the aisle as one of the most shrewd military strategists in America. Dempsey recently told reporters, “I think in the crafting of the AUMF [authorization for use of military force,] all options should be on the table, and then we can debate whether we want to use them.”

Yes, sir, what a strategy!  Let 'em know up front what they don't have to worry about!