Hello followers! Yet a new column between our Co-Editor Max Segal and Editor for Editorials, Nathan Ausubel. We will be doing a series of "Crossfire™" dialectics, getting to the core of issues concerning politics and beyond. Enjoy!
Stay Curious,
FFSOM
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Stay Curious,
FFSOM
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When the United States
set out to defeat ISIS, it planned to drive ISIS
from a position to inflict damage. However, even though the US has launched airstrikes, coordinated efforts
of Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish forces on the ground, and built a coalition of
countries, it has still not managed to defeat ISIS.
After three months of airstrikes, ISIS remains a serious
threat in Syria.
It is prepared to capture Kurdish towns along the border in spite of US
airstrikes. Perhaps most troubling, ISIS has placed the town of Kobani under siege and is
now advancing on three fronts. If Kobani falls to ISIS, ISIS fighters will be
within striking distance of Turkey,
and they will be positioned to massacre Kobani’s Kurdish residents2.
To make matters worse, the Syrian army recently suffered a humiliating defeat
to militants that overran the command center of commander Jamal Maarouf. The
attack was carried out by terrorists with affiliations to al-Qaida, suggesting
that ISIS is no longer working alone3.
With the help of extra recruits, ISIS is
stronger than ever.
(ISIS's very probable plan of Pan-Arabic domination).
The United
States has started to train Syrian fighters,
but its efforts will not be enough. The US
is expecting to train only around 5,000 Syrian rebel fighters, whereas ISIS has as many as 30,000 recruits3. US
training efforts are well intentioned, but the Pentagon will have to rethink
its strategy if it hopes to overpower ISIS
fighters.
ISIS poses a similar danger
to the Iraqi government. Despite the efforts of Iraqi ground troops and despite
US airstrikes, ISIS now controls most of the Al Abnar province, the largest governing
unit of Iraq.
ISIS has already executed three hundred members of the Albu Nimr tribe, and it
is prepared to massacre even more people if they resist the ISIS
takeover3. As the Iraqi government debates how to respond to the
terrorist threat, ISIS is consolidating
control over the region. Meanwhile, the Pentagon warns that a counteroffensive
to drive ISIS from Iraq
might not happen until next spring3.
(Iraq's very ineffectual Prime Minister, al-Abadi)
The US
government needs to realize that its strategy against ISIS
is a losing strategy. As long as Syrian and Iraqi forces are poorly trained and
as long as jihadists arrive to assist ISIS, the United
States cannot expect to turn the tides against ISIS. The US
strategy is failing to stop the terrorist threat, and it will need to be
rethought in the coming days.
Stay tuned for Max's kickass response.
1 Ferran, Lee and Rym Mortaz. “ISIS Trail of
Terror.” ABC News. American
Broadcasting Company, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
2 Dearden, Lizzie. “ISIS
in Kobani: Where is it and why is the battle to defend it so important?” The Independent. Independent Print
Limited, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
3 Chulov, Martin. “US plan for proxy army to fight Isis
in Syria
suffers attack.” The Guardian.
Guardian Media Group, 2 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
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