The Pentagon on Wednesday made the sobering prediction that more towns in Syria and Iraq will fall to the Islamic State in the coming weeks, and that air power alone is not going to be enough to prevent the fall of the Syrian city of Kobani near the Turkish border.

It also raised the prospect of Islamic State terrorists marching on Baghdad, a fear that lawmakers and former top military officials say can only be addressed by ground forces.

“We know that [the Islamic State] is going to continue to grab ground, and there are going to continue to be villages and towns and cities that they take,” said Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, press secretary to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. “We all have to recognize that reality.”

SEE ALSO: Al Qaeda, Islamic…