Photo by Corey Maher
CONNOR HOFFMAN
Staff Writer
The recent Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacks on Paris are definitely a tragedy, and something must be done to reprimand these terrorists. This does not seem to be the end of ISIL’s attacks, and ISIL has actually threatened to attack Washington, D.C. next, according to CNN.
The ISIL attack on Paris happened on Friday, Nov. 13, and resulted in the death of 129 citizens from gunfire and blasts.
In response to these gruesome events, the French have started a bombing campaign in Syria, designed to eradicate ISIL. This is starting to look a lot like the United States’ reaction to 9/11 and the subsequent war on terror. Although these two events bear similarity, the forces involved are quite different.
The main way these terrorist groups differ is in their approach to waging their holy war against the West. Al Qaeda was a group that focused on performing deadly attacks on the Western countries they hated, according to Business Insider. ISIL is much more serious of a threat, and is focused on winning their holy war by conquering and consolidating the Middle East, according to Business Insider. ISIL is a more expansive enemy and is in control of parts of Syria and Iraq, whereas Al Qaeda only really was in control of parts of Afghanistan.
If ISIL is able to continue to grow in strength and numbers, this might incite another crusade, but this time with Islam attacking the West rather than the West attacking Islam.
I never thought I would say it, but I actually agree with how Obama has handled this situation. Obama has said that he will not be committing U.S. troops to Syria to deal with ISIL.
“That would be a mistake — not because our military could not march into Mosul or Raqqa or Ramadi and temporarily clear out ISIL, but because we would see a repetition of what we’ve seen before,” said President Barack Obama at a recent G20 meeting. “Victory over terrorist groups requires local populations to reject the ideology of extremism.”
ISIL is a threat to not just France or the United States, but the entire world, and is exactly why France or the United States. should not be the ones leading this operation. If ISIL is able to consolidate all of its power in the Middle East, they would have enormous control over resources and would probably go to war against the West.
The true solution to this problem is that the United States and France need to lead a coalition of troops to rid the world of ISIL. The United States and France cannot just go into another Middle Eastern war alone — too many lives have been lost already. According to a Time Magazine article from this past January, the Afghanistan war has cost the United States anywhere between $4-6 trillion so far. Also, the United States has lost 162,000 lives in the war in Afghanistan, according to CNN.
At the same time, though, the world cannot just sit by and not do anything.
The United States should act like the international leader that it is and lead the United Nations (UN) and the international community to start not only a military campaign against ISIL, but also a campaign to shift the minds of these people. ISIL must be held accountable for its actions in this attack to stop future attacks, but this must not be led by the United States. The international community must be able to stop the advance of ISIL before it’s too late.
By launching a military offensive, with most of the countries of the world working together, the Middle East will be able to get the message that it’s not just the United States or France acting by themselves, but that the world sees this as a problem. This will lead to an easier military campaign, and won’t leave the United States with the sole responsibility of cleaning up the Middle East after ISIL is destroyed.
The UN then must also start a campaign to shift the minds of these people, because simply going to war won’t solve the true problem of ISIL.
A war against ISIL won’t work like the war against Al Qaeda, because ISIL is much more different in their purpose and tactics they use. Al Qaeda was a terrorist group dedicated to planning attacks whereas ISIL is dedicated to creating a modern Islamic empire. This movement — for a modern Islamic empire — is a much harder enemy to fight than a few masterminds trying to plan attacks. That’s precisely why the UN must stop this ideology from spreading any further.
After the international community has gotten together to stop ISIL, it will truly guarantee that future terrorist groups will not be able to invoke the fear that ISIL has.