Using US Ground Troops Against ISIS
The terrorist group is known as ISIS - an extremist militant group, meaning Islamic State in Iraq and Syria- was created in 2004 and followed Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda's ideology of being anti-western and devoted to becoming an independent Islamic State. The organization controls large territories within Iraq and Syria, which contain oil fields and help fund the organization. With this much power, ISIS has been able to accomplish attacks in places such as Paris; the attack killed at least one-hundred-thirty people. Troops from the United States are being deployed into Syria to try and fight this threat. With fear of future attacks, such as the recent attack in Paris, the Syrian Defense force will try and protect any other attacks towards the United States or Paris.
With the belief that more manpower will send a message towards this extremist group, the United States will continue to deploy more troops to Syria. By seizing land ISIS controls, the United States can prevent people fearing any future attacks. Terrorism must be eliminated for the protection of the United States and other countries. It uses violence and intimidation, which promotes fear in the daily lives of people.
For the sake of world security, we must avoid attacks such as the New York World Trade Center attacks, the Mumbai attacks, the Charlie Hebdo attacks’ all of which are acts of terrorism that are infamous for their mass destruction and hysteria. What makes terrorism such an appalling action is its harsh motive. Terrorists attempt to kill innocent individuals for the sake of threatening other countries for personal and political desires. The scale of these attacks could be aimless- killing up to hundreds of civilians while some attacks could only be targeting one or two lives. The scale of these attacks, however, is not pertinent when judging them morally. Terrorism is an illegal action that incites violent crime. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (or ISIS) has publicly murdered dozens of innocent hostages. In addition, videos of these brutal slaughters have surfaced on the Internet. Four of these victims were American journalists. Due to their extremist ways, ISIS has been identified as a terrorist group not only by America but also by many other countries that had its people terrorized by this group.
The Unites States of America should stop ISIS to protect its citizens from any future attacks. President Obama stated -in his speech addressing ISIS- that “if we don’t think [America] is on the [Islamic State’s] target list, we are delusional” (Cohen). Even though ISIS has not directly attacked American soil, the Islamic state has already directly addressed Obama in the video showing the execution of the American journalist James Foley. In the video, an ISIS militant says that Foley’s death is in retaliation for the U. S. airstrikes. Although these airstrikes have led to the execution of an individual, they are beneficial and will help defeat ISIS. With an “estimate [of] fewer than 1,000 Islamic State fighters in Surt,” the help of “American warplanes could provide a decisive advantage…[to]break the stalemate along the fighting fronts in the southern and western part of the city”(Cooper). With the use of manned airplanes, these airstrikes will harm fewer civilians and help weaken the army of ISIS. With ISIS’s soldiers being defeated with an effective method, there will be a higher chance of Victory. The United States’s war planes are therefore required to defeat this organization and prevent fear in the lives of United State citizens.
The Obama Administration, an executive branch of government under the control of the President, plans to attack ISIS and seize some of the territories it controls. With the help of Syrian refugees, the organization plans to “ arm Syrian Kurdish fighters” in order to counteract the “offensive against the terrorist group”(Schmitt 1). ISIS possesses land with resources such as oil fields; they use and sell these resources to fund their organization. With Syrian fighters counteracting forces in Iraq and Syria, the United States can stop this organization from furthering their operations. The United States can help expand the forces against ISIS and stop the expansion of the organization in other countries. Iraq and Syria require the help of the United States to cease ISIS’s operations and reclaim land taken over by ISIS: Mosul. According to Rukmini Callimachi, “the United States government revealed the identity on . . . the overseers of last year’s attacks in Paris [and] the coordinated suicide bombings that tore through the international airport and a metro station in Brussels this year”(Callimachi 1).
The Islamic State has invaded Iraq, Syria, and many conquering states and cities with their country. With the attacks increasing internationally, the chance of an attack on the United States is rising. With this rising threat, intervention by the United States in Syria and Iraq is necessary as the organization is gathering more resources and weapons in those countries. Therefore there is a possible threat of a future attack. ISIS possess many weapons, which should be thwarted as soon as possible. In addition, the Islamic State also encouraged Muslims in foreign areas “to kill civilians in any country that joined the U. S. -led coalition against the terror group, including the U. S. ”(Ferran and Momtaz). The extremist group has not only attempted to brainwash Muslims all over the world through manipulative propaganda, but also ISIS has been able to recruit foreign fighters using this method- while giving the Islamic faith a bad reputation. With the growing ISIS army, there is a need to defeat this organization before it gets to an overwhelming size. With their influence spreading onto soldiers, it is a matter of time before their influence spreads to the west and creates fear in the lives of these individuals. The influence of ISIS led a boy to “run away from their Melbourne home and join Islamic State” and later “died on a suicide mission in central Iraq last week”(Coletta et al. 1). John Bilardi an 18-year-old man were influenced by the Islamic State to be used as a weapon against his own Country. This incident shows that ISIS the power influence the western people; this includes people fighting in Iraq and Syria. As a result, ISIS has recruited over 1,000 Westerners into their military force. This knowledge may frighten people who fear of a future attack, but with the United States’s aid, Iraq and Syria may be able to defeat ISIS and any influence they have on people. Even with the ambition to defeat ISIS, there is still the problem as to what will happen when the Westerners return home. ISIS can train foreign fighters to redeploy them back into the West, where they will carry out acts of terrorism on Western soil for the glory of ISIS. These Islamic State executioners are killing dozens of innocent people daily.
When the burning of fifty prisoners is glorified by this group, we know something must be done to stop them. If these extremists do not show mercy to their people, women or children, then why should we? Airstrikes alone will not be enough to eliminate ISIS. ISIS is unlike any other terrorist group; therefore, it should not be treated like a conventional terrorist group. Not only has ISIS seized or conquered more area than any terrorist group has before, but ISIS also functions more like a military force than an average terrorist group. In addition, ISIS “operates as a government in the territory it controls [by] issuing taxes” which are used to fund the group. Oil wells are being controlled by ISIS which allows them to sell oil to the countries that need it. Consequently, the Islamic State’s territory and the economy are growing exponentially. This will allow the group to easily conquer neighboring territories. Once ISIS controls most of the Middle East, they will form their ideal Caliphate: an Islamic State. After establishing a Caliphate, ISIS will have the power to expand immensely or even threaten the U. S completely. ISIS is like a virus- waiting to take action, which will only allow their sphere of influence to grow. The longer we stall to take action, the more difficult it will be to eliminate the problem. ISIS is capable of spreading extremely quickly- which can transform the Islamic State into an unstoppable threat to the world’s security. ISIS is also slowly infecting civilians- through means of execution or manipulation. Although the battle to stop ISIS requires a large amount of money, we should continue to fund these counter-ISIS operations to supply soldiers with the necessary weapons to defeat Islamic State soldiers.
With the already high discretionary spending on the military ($598. 5 billion), there is speculation on how much the United States will spend on the battle with ISIS. With this large operation, “the Department of Defense has spent more than $2. 7 billion. . . against the so-called Islamic State[since] last August” (Rios 1). With a huge amount of money and time invested in the operation to stop ISIS, we should continue to attack the organization to prevent their influence from spreading. ISIS is a global threat that has attacked other countries such as Egypt where a Russian plane, believed to be linked to ISIS, led to the death of 224 people. Further incidents like this must be stopped. With the United States financial aid on sending soldiers into Iraq and Syria, they can prevent a future attack in America. With ISIS’s control of the territory containing oil, the Islamic State organization “makes between $1 million and $2 million each day from oil sales” with products “ from refineries and wells that ISIS controls in northern Iraq and northern Syria”(Fantz 1). With the control of an estimated 6 million people, the oil smuggling helps ISIS financially further their operation on becoming a self-sufficient Islamic State. With this massive oil operation in motion, Iraq and Syria require help from the United States, with all their military resources, to stop the organization from increasing their wealth and power before ISIS overpowers the United States and decide to invade the country. Some critics, however, believe that the U. S. should stay out of a war with the Islamic State to avoid any detrimental military expenses.
Opposers believe that, instead, the U. S. should only attack ISIS if it launches any direct attacks to the country- sparing America the money and troops that would be used in foreign affairs. Ideally, it would be best for the country if the war was avoided to have a stable economy; however, the idea that the U. S. can simply take minimal action in such an urgent battle is absurd. In reality, ground troops are needed to eliminate ISIS effectively. In fact, according to a national survey conducted during February 2016 by CBS, a majority of Americans, approximately 65% (Backus), now believe that ISIS is a major threat- a 7% increase since the previous survey. Consequently, as more American citizens believe ISIS is a threat, more Americans believe that ground troops should be sent to Iraq. Now, for the first time, a majority of Americans (57%) approve sending ground troops to Iraq. These rising statistics are manifestations of the American citizens’ growing insecurity. Shouldn’t we feel safe in America? Doesn’t President Obama claim to prioritize our safety in America? Why isn’t our government taking appropriate action? In past wars, such as WWII, the United States has hesitated to take action in foreign wars and insisted that they remained isolated from the warfront. Such intentions, however, proved to be unsuccessful when the United States was obligated to act as a world police. For example, hesitating to take full action during WWII only allowed Nazi Germany to spread and become stronger while America became open to an unexpected attack. Would it not have been a more intelligent choice to eliminate Nazi Germany before it became a formidable war machine? Some believe that history repeats itself. In this situation, avoiding direct war with ISIS will –ironically- create even more destruction in the future, but the U. S. can avoid making a similar mistake twice. In conclusion, the benefits of using ground troops against ISIS will not only secure our safety but the safety of many generations of future citizens across the globe. To prevent attacks and avoid creating fear within people, United States intervention in Iraq and Syria is needed.
The invasion of ISIS will help prevent acts of terrorism. In favor, this will the destroy the social anxiety incited by terrorist attacks. The battle against ISIS will require a lot of financial effort; however, even if these plans require a lot of money, this operation will benefit America for many generations to come. It is important that we don’t focus on the contemporary effects when choosing a solution; instead, we must focus on the prolonged effect when choosing a solution. Therefore, it is our duty as Americans to preserve our freedom and security for the sake of the citizens. We fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We fight for world security.
