The Islamic State, ISIL, or ISIS. No matter what name you know, you know that it is not good. A fairly mysterious terrorist group that began as a splinter of al Qaeda, this group has had its fair share of media coverage in recent months. With an aim to create a caliphate, an Islamic state, across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria (and arguably even more areas), this group is infamously known for public executions. But they are creating more havoc than just the public executions; blowing up holy sites, taking control of major Syrian oil fields, and kidnapping innocent children, among other things. This is no longer an issue for the nations of Iraq and Syria, but rather, it has transformed into a global issue.
On September 10th, 2014 President Barak Obama spoke to the world about what needs to be done. He came up with a four-pieced strategy (explained below) and he is asking the world to help.

1. Air Strikes

This is no longer a defensive game of protection of American people and humanitarians abroad. We will now actively be seeking out ISIL targets and going on the offense by taking an even more extreme and active stance. What is perhaps the important takeaway to note about this strategy is that Obama has vowed to keep our troops out of
combat on the ground. America’s attacks will be from the air, and the air alone.
Since August 8th, the United States has produced almost 100 air strikes in Iraq. Here is a handy dandy list of all of them, including what they hit.

2. Increasing support for forces on the ground (while avoiding combat)

Several hundred American service members have been in Iraq since June, figuring out how America could best support Iraqi Security forces. Now that an Iraqi government is in place, 475 more service members are headed there to continue to support the Iraqi troops through the means of intelligence, training, and equipment. Again, Obama has made it a very specific point to remind the American population that American troops will not be involved in any sort of ground conflict during this mission. Obama also remarked that assistance in Syria will be amplified, and asked for Congress to support this mission.

3. Working to prevent ISIL attacks

To give a few examples, this means getting a better understanding of the group, attempting to cut off any monetary support they are getting from across the globe, and spreading the word across the Middle East about the horrors of ISIS, especially in Egypt and Turkey.

4. Providing humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who have been affected

Despite the greatest efforts of America and the entire world, innocent people, such as James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and most recently, David Haines, are going to be terrorized, displaced, harmed, and killed by ISIL until ISIL is destroyed. Therefore, Obama is saying that his plan is to not only try to end ISIS, but to clean up the mess that they have made, making sure those that have been affected are given proper care, and also attempting to protect the religious minorities and various other people that are still currently being targeted by the terrorist group.

So what does it all mean?

This is all much easier said than done, and it seems pretty apparent that Obama realizes that. Throughout the entirety of his speech, he asked for assistance from other countries, admitting that America cannot tackle this issue on its own. If this strategy is going to work, it will require collaboration between countries from all around the globe. Because Obama refuses to allow American troops to take part in ground combat, a big part that other countries will play is filling that hole by stepping up and making that sacrifice, allowing their troops to fight on the ground. In fact,several countries have already pledged to help the United States put an end to ISIL.

Of course, ISIL has not been silent. After Obama gave his speech, they released a graphic video titled “A Message to the Allies of America” in which they brutally behead David Haines, a British Aid worker, and threaten for more to come for whichever countries agree to assist America in the fight against ISIL.

Is this the right strategy?

Should ISIL be stopped? Yes. Absolutely.
Is this the right way to stop it? I guess we’ll find out.
Attempting to be civil with ISIL is probably the wrong strategy.
Keeping US troops away from ground conflict is a nice idea, but there is a fear about if that can actually happen. And there is more fear that other countries will have to get involved in ground conflict, because America asked for their help, while America then sits far far away from the conflict and watches.
Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see so much support from countries across the globe that are vowing to help.
What will unfold with this situation will be interesting to say the very least.

Link to the actual buzzfeed article