IR Germany and Islamic State
Germany and Islamic Military Intervention
International Relations POLS1160
The Islamic State is a region in the Middle East that is an unrecognized state with a self-declared government. They control a landmass in northwest Iraq and eastern Syria. Since the removal of U.S troops from Iraq in 2011, tensions have escalated between the government and radical groups such as ISIS. ISIS has slowly been conquering land in Iraq. They are well trained and organized soldiers that have an effective use of propaganda. They completely instill themselves into communities, gaining trust and creating order. They conquer through promise of goodwill and freedom (Jawad al-Tamimi, 5). In August, President Obama issued aid to Iraqi citizens in the form of airdrops including food, water, supplies, etc. However, the aid from the United States quickly turned violent as they began implementing airstrikes on ISIS, keeping them from further advancing into Iraq. In order to send America a message, ISIS has released two videos beheading two Americans, James Foley and Steven Sotloff. These seemed to fuel Obama’s anger towards the radical group. More airstrikes have been deemed unproductive and ineffective, as fighter jets cannot destroy all individual ground soldiers (Letsch, 1). This is leading to western nations considering more drastic invasion tactics. There has been great criticism surrounding Obama issuing airstrikes as it is deemed an act of war, requiring congressional approval, which he did not receive. Besides the beheading of two American citizens, ISIS proposes no extreme threat to Americans. This raises the question why should we care about a small, unrecognized state that only has intentions of conquering land in the Middle East? We may not need to worry about ISIS, but more about the West’s reaction to it. The Islamic State has appeared on every newspaper front page and magazine cover over the past few months. Attention from The United States and United Kingdom has
International Relations POLS1160
The Islamic State is a region in the Middle East that is an unrecognized state with a self-declared government. They control a landmass in northwest Iraq and eastern Syria. Since the removal of U.S troops from Iraq in 2011, tensions have escalated between the government and radical groups such as ISIS. ISIS has slowly been conquering land in Iraq. They are well trained and organized soldiers that have an effective use of propaganda. They completely instill themselves into communities, gaining trust and creating order. They conquer through promise of goodwill and freedom (Jawad al-Tamimi, 5). In August, President Obama issued aid to Iraqi citizens in the form of airdrops including food, water, supplies, etc. However, the aid from the United States quickly turned violent as they began implementing airstrikes on ISIS, keeping them from further advancing into Iraq. In order to send America a message, ISIS has released two videos beheading two Americans, James Foley and Steven Sotloff. These seemed to fuel Obama’s anger towards the radical group. More airstrikes have been deemed unproductive and ineffective, as fighter jets cannot destroy all individual ground soldiers (Letsch, 1). This is leading to western nations considering more drastic invasion tactics. There has been great criticism surrounding Obama issuing airstrikes as it is deemed an act of war, requiring congressional approval, which he did not receive. Besides the beheading of two American citizens, ISIS proposes no extreme threat to Americans. This raises the question why should we care about a small, unrecognized state that only has intentions of conquering land in the Middle East? We may not need to worry about ISIS, but more about the West’s reaction to it. The Islamic State has appeared on every newspaper front page and magazine cover over the past few months. Attention from The United States and United Kingdom has