In 2003 the U.S. invaded Iraq because of alleged ties to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Iraq was governed by brutal Sunni dictator, Saddam Hussein, who suppressed the Shia majority. The U.S. took over and replaced the government with a Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. The new prime minister monopolized power and suppressed Sunnis with violence and the incarceration of Sunni politicians.
The new government was regarded as corrupt, incapable and hated by a large part of its citizens. This led to a Sunni rebel uprising and the emergence of terrorist groups like al Qaeda.
Lesson: replacing one corrupt, oppressive government with another doesn’t solve any problems.
In 2011 the Syrian Uprising began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial government. Al Qaeda got involved in the Syrian civil war, trying to overthrow the Shiite Assad regime.
The UN estimates 2 million people have fled Syria to neighboring countries.
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an al Qaeda splinter group. ISIS’s goal is to create an Islamic State called a caliphate across Iraq and Syria. They gained a lot of support from Iraq’s Sunni population oppressed by the Shiite Iraqi government the U.S. had put into place.
ISIS is the richest terrorist organization in the world.
With the start of the Syrian civil war ISIS expanded their goals to include Syria as well. ISIS used extortion and robbery to get money at first but gaining control of hundreds of square miles, as well as Syria’s largest oil refinery, now allows them to generate resources and continue capturing more territory.
ISIS has been known to exhibit violent acts of brutality like civilian massacres, suicide bombings, beheadings, enslaving women, killing children, and executing prisoners. They have issued many threats against the western world. ISIS exhibited such brutal tactics in Syria and had such great ambitions that al Qaeda renounced all ties to ISIS in February of 2014.
In September 2014 a new prime minister of Iraq took office, Haider al-Abadi. Although he is a Shiite he has pledged to govern with inclusivity, incorporating new government officials from all Iraqi communities.
This new Iraqi government is going to be the key to ending the control of terrorist organizations like ISIS. It is through the suppression, violence and ultimate rebellion that these groups are created and supported.
August 2013: Obama authorizes targeted airstrikes to protect US personnel from ISIS
February 2014: al Qaeda renounces ties to ISIS
June 2014: ISIS takes control of Mosul, Iraqs second largest city
June 2014: UN estimates 1.2 million Iraqi refugees due to ISIS
June 2014: 300 additional US troops to Iraq, total nearly 800
July 2014: ISIS takes control of major Syrian oil field, al-Omar
August 19, 2014: video released of ISIS decapitating US journalist James Foley
September 2, 2014: video released of ISIS decapitating US journalist Steven Sotloff
“Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.”
On September 10th Obama announced his plan for a extensive campaign against ISIS. He expanded the U.S. airstrikes in Iraq to now target ISIS in Syria also. He shifted another $25 million to military aid for Iraqi forces. This could include supplies like ammunition, arms and vehicles as well as education and training.
Obama asked congress for authority to train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS.
He also announced that 475 U.S. military advisors will go to Iraq, bringing the total number to about 1,700. He said “It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil,” but the U.S. will lead an international coalition to fight ISIS.
This is a huge change from Obama’s previous policy; he has refused to arm Syrian rebels for the past 2 years and would not authorize any airstrikes in Syria.
Syria has said that it would consider any U.S. military action inside its borders to be a hostile act.
Although this is a counter-terrorism operation against ISIS, the U.S. will be inserting itself into the middle of yet another conflict. Obama is committing U.S. involvement in a conflict that has no end point and the success of it is going to rely on the international coalition which includes forces that in the past have proven unreliable: the Iraqi government, Syrian opposition and regional partners like Saudi Arabia.
Now that the U.S. is involved we won’t be able to leave without a resolution.
By: Laura Mills