ISIS, ISIL, or just IS: this radical terrorist group goes by many names.
ISIS is the product of many groups of radical Sunni Muslim extremists, whom even Al-Qaeda eventually dubbed “too extreme”, but it only became a real threat to global peace and stability in 2014. It had already been involved in the Syrian civil war, but it shook the world this past summer with its invasion of Iraq and Syria from seemingly out of nowhere.
Presently, it controls most of eastern Syria and western Iraq, which includes many of the valuable oil wells it uses to fund its terrorism. Recently many nations, under the direction of President Obama, have formed a military coalition to counter ISIS’s rapid progress.
So far the coalition has been limited to airstrikes on ISIS, while the ground fighting is done by more local groups such as the Kurdish Peshmerga, the Iraqi & Syrian armies, and the Syrian Free Front, as well as many minority militias. ISIS has been accused of extreme human rights violations, including murder, rape, kidnappings, slavery, and attempted genocide. The world is in agreement that something must be done.
Most people agree that ISIS must be stopped, but it’s easier said than done. The groups involved are having an especially difficult time coming to a compromise on how to win the war against these radical jihadists.
My personal opinion is that the coalition is a step in the right direction, but it has to have a better working relationship with the groups on the ground. Nations need to put aside past grievances and petty arguments in order to face the looming threat to peace and security. The idea of working with nations like Iran or Syria is rejected almost immediately, but in this case, unlikely alliances need to be made in order to save the lives of people who so desperately need help. As a global community, we must come together to rid the world of this detestable organization.