In areas under or adjacent to Islamic State control, the general populations likely do not support either the Islamic State or the Western (and now also Russian) forces arrayed against it. They are not zealots or samurai, and do not want to die as martyrs. ISIS knows this and entices its enemies to attack the population centres that it controls, even though the ability of ISIS to diffuse its highly mobile military assets and personnel in a semi-nomadic regime without borders means that there is little infrastructure available to target. Mostly, then, the local populations suffer. Although many would run away from both ISIS and the bombs of its enemies if given half a chance, they cannot move and must exclusively depend for protection on the black banner, where evidence of gray can be punished with death. And history shows that aerial bombing campaigns generally harden populations against the bombers, whatever the regime.