An image victory

The main benefit stemming from the killing of Islamic State official Abu Sayyaf relates to image. His death will have little, if any, practical effect on Islamic State and the war it is waging in Iraq and Syria.

The killing itself was impressive, even if on a limited scale. U.S. special forces units have carried out hundreds of similar operations over the past 15 years in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Saturday's operation, precise intelligence led to a relatively easy execution of the mission.

It is likely that the American troops carried out a search of Sayyaf's home before they left. If they found documents with information that would enable the U.S. to damage the group's military and financial operations, this would be of greater significance than the death of Sayyaf.

Naturally, the White House took great pride in the operation, which was ordered by President Barack Obama. One could sense the desperation of the Obama administration for any foreign policy achievement.

But the operation was also in essence an admission of the initial mistake made by Obama at the start of the military campaign against the group, when he pledged all strikes would be conducted from the air and there would be "no boots on the ground."

For anyone familiar with how to fight terrorism, it was obvious this would not work. Certainly, Islamic State could not be defeated from the air. And now, just a few months later, there are ground operations carried out by special forces. On Saturday, Delta Force fighters got the credit. But to win the war against the group, a massive concentration of force on the ground over time would be beneficial.

Meanwhile, the Americans gained image points on Saturday in the war on terrorism. But image is a slippery thing that can be reversed at any moment. While the U.S. is trying to demoralize Islamic State fighters, the group will definitely try to exact quick revenge with a strike either in the immediate region or via emissaries against a Western target abroad.

But, as Israel knows from its decades of fighting terrorism, these are all sideshows that will not decide the war. As long as America does not change its strategy, Islamic State will in fact grow stronger and pose an existential challenge to both the Iraqi and the Syrian governments.

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