What Does ISIS Stand For?
“ISIS” stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. Al-Sham includes Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Kuwait.
Why Should Students Have Knowledge of the Controversy at Hand?
As the generation of the future, we need to become educated on the controversies that occur now so that in the future we can better prepare ourselves against making the same mistakes again.Y’all’s generation should educate themselves of the problems at hand because history repeats itself. If y’all know about the problems that are going on, you can prevent it from happening again. Use it as a life lesson.
How Did This Terrorist Group Start?
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the previous leader of Iraq, tried to start a war in 2006 between Iraq and the majority of the Shia community. This goes back to the main reason why this whole controversy arose — ISIS believes that “their” territory should become an Islamic state. According to CNN, Iraq almost succeeded in starting this war but fortunately American forces stopped them.
Are We at War with ISIS?
At this time, the U.S. fights against terrorism, but Obama has yet to officially declare war on the Iraqi nations. ISIS ordered many airstrikes against us. Some of the most recent attacks occurred on the borders of Canada and Alaska. Because of their actions, the U.S. responded back with their own airstrikes on Iraq.
Does the Iraqi Government Have Enough Power to Contain This Rising Terrorist Group?
Iraqi officials later talked of a “third generation” that could become the next al-Qaeda, but instead became their own group known as ISIS. American military personnel believed it could be prevented if the Iraqi government could crack down on its citizens. Unfortunately, the Iraqi government could not contain the uprising terrorist group and as a result, that new terrorist group rose to power in 2006. Eight years later and we still seem to be involved with this controversy that has continued to grow with no intentions of stopping.
In 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi got promoted to the top position and now leads the group. With a new leader in command, ISIS has gained more power than the former al-Qaeda group. Because of Baghdadi’s “passion”, the group has thrived, making many deals with surrounding areas to supply themselves with weaponry and inside information, something that al-Qaeda did not have.
We understand that there is a certain price we have to pay in order to keep our freedom. At times that means that we might have to pay the ultimate sacrifice, which is having people lose their lives to keep our country together.
— Mr. Leonard Cousins
What About the People Whose Lives Were Taken?
The beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff mark the beginning of the disturbing images that we have seen and heard about. Since the death of these two men, so many more people have lost their lives. ISIS has killed more than 5,500 Iraqi civilians and 4,480 U.S. troops. The terrorist group has recently started targeting Christians as well as their family and friends. The targeting of innocent people has also started here in the U.S. Early in September, there had been reports of an American citizen in Minnesota who killed people, fighting for ISIS.
Why Kill These Innocent Bystanders?
The people who killed the American journalists used their murders as a fear tactic. ISIS wants America to know that they mean business. Little do they know, America will not be thrown back by this but instead motivated to protect its country.
