Airstrikes alone will not be sufficient to eliminate ISIS (also referred to as Islamic State). This has been Turkey’s view from the outset of its march into Iraq and Syria, and military officials in the U.S. and elsewhere now share this view. Yet as evidence mounts that the air campaign is not enough, some seek to blame Turkey for not putting boots on the ground.

Turkey is being asked to send ground forces into Syria; to send arms to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, in Kobani; and to allow the Kurdish Workers Party...