ISIS Address: How the U.S. plans to deal with the Islamic State

As leader of the self proclaimed “best country on Earth,” all eyes were on Barack Obama today. Stepping to the podium in a broadcasted address, the president discussed his tactics for eliminating the threat known as ISIS, ISIL, or simply the Islamic State. This radical terrorist group, originating in Iraq and Syria, garnered national attention last month when they posted a video showing the brutal beheading of American journalist James Foley.

The name itself, Islamic State, is deceiving. The group has been denounced by a large majority of the Islamic faith, who believe that ISIL operates radically outside of their religion. Obama opened his speech by reinforcing this separation, stating that, “No religion condones the killing of innocents… And the vast majority of the victims have been Muslim.”

The main focus of todays address was to present strategies to eradicate ISIL; the plan presented centers on the use of air strikes to take out the militants without putting U.S. soldiers in combat. Even in recent weeks, airstrikes on ISIL locations in the middle east have increased. Also, while Obama iterated multiple times that American soldiers would not face combat, an additional 475 troops are being sent into Iraq to train and aid local forces. While this seems reasonable in concept, the chances of sending nearly 500 troops into hostile environments and fully avoiding confrontation with the enemy seems far- fetched.

There is another major fault with sending aid (in the form of people and supplies) to other countries; it has not worked out so well in the past. Aiding the Mujahideen effort to liberate Afghanistan from the Soviet’s led to the creation of Al Qaeda with American resources. As it is, ISIS is using U.S. equipment that was supplied to Iraq during our recent war in the middle east. Now, we plan to send more weapons and funding to Iraq and Syria with the intent of supporting the fight against ISIS.

While I have my gripes with the mode of action presented, there is no better solution. America may be accused of trying to police the whole world, but when the brutal murders of our citizens are published for the whole world to see, action must be taken. The danger of American forces facing ground conflict is much more direct and important to avoid than the possibilities of rebellion using U.S. aid. Obama’s speech contained all the information the American people were hungry for, presenting a feasible strategy for dealing with the threat in the middle east.