Iraq has formally asked the United States to launch air strikes against the ISIS militants who’ve seized much of Iraq’s north and are poised just 60 kilometers from Baghdad.  US President Barack Obama is considering a constantly updated list of targets to hit, if a strike is ordered.

But air strikes alone may not be enough to stop Iraq’s plunge into civil war.  They’re effective against armies, but not against familiar terrorist activities.

“ISIS already has dug in positions in Abu Ghraib and other neighborhoods around in the outskirts of Baghdad.  They can launch and have been launching bombing attacks inside Baghdad for some months now,” said Linda Robinson, senior International Policy Analyst at the RAND Corporation.  “So they can carry out a guerilla style war against Baghdad, and it will be very difficult for us to counter that.”

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released video showing fighters parading through the town of Baiji, showing off the hardware and vehicles they took from the Iraqi military.  They were on their way into the Baiji oil fields, one of the biggest in the world and the Iraq’s main gasoline processing plant.  Both the government and ISIS claimed to control the plant, but it’s apparent that the two sides are locked in a battle for the prize.

“The militants have managed to break into the refinery.  Now they are in control of the production units, administration building and four watchtowers.  This is 75 percent of the refinery,” an official speaking from inside the facility said.