Photo Courtesy of NYtimes.co
CONNOR HOFFMAN
Special to The Leader
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist group, took the life of another innocent American, U.S. aid worker and former soldier Peter Kassig on Nov. 16 . According to Fox News, ISIS grew out of the remains of Al Qaeda in Iraq and spread to Syria.
ISIS released a video showing the removed heads of Kassig and some Syrian soldiers. This 16-minute long video was posted to social media networks and featured a concealed ISIS member standing next to a severed head that the organization claimed to be Kassig’s. The video also showed ISIS beheading several Syrian soldiers.
President Barack Obama responded to the video, calling the act “pure evil.” The parents of Kassig, Ed and Paula Kassig, have asked the media not to post any of the images or videos that ISIS distributed.
Kassig is the third American hostage killed by ISIS in the last three months. The other American hostages killed recently were journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. On top of this, ISIS has attacked U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Syria. Such an attack against U.S. forces demanded a response from the U.S.
Earlier this year, in June, ISIS took over much of Northern Iraq, causing the U.S. to resume air start-up again military operations. According to Fox News, the U.S. has already launched airstrikes in Iraq and Syria earlier this year to halt the advance of ISIS and eventually destroy the group.
According to NBC News, this has caused President Obama to order a review of how the U.S. responds when citizens are taken hostage overseas. This is fueled by complaints that family members of those killed believe the U.S. did not do enough to save their loved ones’ lives.
Also according to NBC News, one of the main policies that Obama plans to continue is the refusal to pay ransoms for hostages captured by terrorists.
“The president continues to believe, as previous presidents have concluded, that it’s not in the best interest of American citizens to pay ransoms for any organization, let alone a terrorist organization,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
“I still would say no, don’t do that. At least these people are politically motivated, but then you open yourself up to everyday criminals who will just say, ‘Oh American abroad — there’s $500,000 walking by,’” said Fredonia professor of political science Dr. Alexander Caviedes.
“You need to go into [it] with a positive plan. Not just to try and say, ‘This is a problem we need to eradicate.’ What are you going to leave in its place? You [have] got to be very cautious you don’t leave some kind of western-looking secular solution in place. It’s got to be a solution which is still quite open to the native population’s desire to express themselves religiously,” said Caviedes.
According to The Fiscal Times, Obama has asked Congress to grant him new war power authority to allow for more airstrikes and training of Syrian soldiers to fight ISIS. While some Republicans may support more force, they are hesitant to give the president more war power in fear of another endless war in the Middle East.
The Republican party wants the president to take a different tone. 2012 Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney has said he favors sending U.S. troops to Syria and Iraq if necessary to combat ISIS.
“At some point, somebody’s boots have to be on the ground,” said Speaker of the House John Boehner.
According to The Fiscal Times, not every Republican supports this. The main opponents of this are Senator Rand Paul and Senator Ted Cruz. They also have expressed a lot of concern about increased presidential war powers.
The U.S. is still deciding exactly how it would like to respond to ISIS. Something has to be done soon so another American life is not lost. Now it is up to the U.S. to decide how it wants to deal with ISIS, and if they believe ISIS should be punished or not.