ISIS's Endgame

Ryan Kelsey

Dr. Muck

PSC 222

November 19, 2015

ISIS’s Endgame

            The notorious terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, continues to find increasingly grotesque and horrifying ways to earn their way into the international spotlight.  From burning captured Jordanian pilots alive, blowing up Russian commercial airliners in midflight to slaughtering unsuspecting Parisians, ISIS has carved a place for itself in history with its ruthlessness.  While it may be impossible for the general public to understand these as unnecessary, pointless acts, they are actually calculated events intended to provoke the rest of the world to action.  With these horrific acts, I believe ISIS is putting the ball in the world’s court, provoking us to invade – their desired intent.  While many call for immense violence of action in Iraq and Syria in order to prevent ISIS from “winning,” I urge a forceful, yet active restraint in order to prevent ISIS from actually winning.

            What exactly does ISIS want?  Behind the acts of violence that can be seen much too often on any news network, they have very specific desires.  Among them, they hope to create a rift between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.  Radical terrorists groups have recruited individuals for years citing the Western abuse and mistreatment of Muslims over the last couple centuries.  ISIS is attempting, and succeeding in some ways, to draw lines between Western and Middle Eastern nations.  One of the most noticeable signs of this rift is the reluctance and outright outrage of Americans over settling refugees within our borders.

            After the terrorist attacks in France, popular presidential candidates have made some alarming statements about the future of Muslim Americans.  Never a stranger to controversy, Donald Trump has declared that he would strongly consider creating a database of all Muslims in the United States as well as shut down mosques.  While the majority of Americans merely laugh at Trump’s rhetoric, his statements cannot be ignored, as they echo a feeling of distrust and suspicion towards Muslims.  Further evidence of this trend, almost all Republican candidates do not want the U.S. to accept refugees.  Even more alarming, the only two Republican candidates who favor accepting refugees, Bush and Cruz, have called for accepting only those that are Christian.

            ISIS hopes that this suspicion of Muslims continues to increase, while in the meantime a coalition of Western nations sends combat troops into Iraq and Syria.  ISIS does not stand a chance against a French, American and Russian led coalition; however, they do not have to win a single military engagement.  Like in Vietnam, all ISIS has to do is maintain a minimal combat effectiveness and they will be able to accomplish their goal of driving the West into a long, bloody conflict in the Middle East.  From this conflict, ISIS is hoping to inspire and provoke Muslims throughout the Middle East to join their force.  In doing so, they will further create a rift between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

            In responding to ISIS, we need to consider how they want us to respond.  Restraint and tactical deliberation is needed both militarily and politically.  Politically, two main subjects need to be considered before taking action.  First, how does turning away Syrian refugees help or harm ISIS?  In order to prevent the terrorist group from gaining any recruiting advantage, the United States should properly vet and accept these refugees.  The second subject that needs to be addressed politically is how do Muslims in other countries view ISIS?  In order for ISIS’s endgame to come to fruition, predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East should turn against the West.  ISIS’s major mistake in accomplishing this mission is the passion and hatred the terror group has stirred with their violent acts.  While the attacks and execution of Westerners earn the most airtime on the evening news, they constitute a wild minority of the total deaths caused at the hands of ISIS.  The majority of these deaths are Muslim men, women and children caught in the Levant. 

            ISIS has gravely miscalculated the amount and the extent of violence they can get away with and still accomplish their goals.  The only way they can succeed at this point is if the West acts without precision, using military action without restrictions.  If this terrorist group is to fade into the dark pages of a sad era in history, the world must act carefully and tactfully in order to prevent ISIS from gaining any advantages that come from the indiscriminate killing of those in their territory.