DISCLAIMER: What I am about to write is based solely on my readings to date and conversations with Roger, If you have any additional points that you feel should be included or corrections, please feel free to elaborate in the comments section.
A terrorist organization, Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (aka ISIS or ISIL), previously known as Al Qaeda, is flexing their muscles throughout Iraq. Many believe they are funded through Saudi Arabia and Qatar to fight on behalf of the Sunni religious group.
Any who, the group is destroying those that stand in the way of their mission, power in the region. They wish to take Middle Eastern countries and expand westward, some anticipate as far as Europe. Their main mission is to spread their special extreme version of Islam. Not even just spread the ‘good word,’ but force it upon all of those they can under the threat of death.
You may have heard of the latest development, ISIS is attempting to take Kurdistan. As you may have guessed, this effects me greatly as my significant other will be living there this fall. Initially they were able to take several towns using the weaponry the US had provided to the Iraqi military prior to exiting in 2011.How did they get the weaponry from the Iraqi military? The military abandoned it… So the Peshmerga, Kurdish military group, was unprepared for the level of weaponry ISIS carried for their initial onslaught. This led to quick takeovers of the bordering cities of Iraq/Kurdistan.
What happened next was one instance of many where the terrorist group shows just how far they are willing to go. In the process of taking over cities in Kurdistan, they killed many men and kidnapped many women. They sent the minority group, Yazidis, fleeing into the mountains to escape religious persecution. However, ISIS then setup camp and simply began to wait for the group of people to return down the mountain. With no escape as many as 40 people passed away from dehydration and starvation. Once the US government recognized the validity of the very real possibility of a genocide, President Obama approved humanitarian drops to aide the Yazidi people. I want to stress again that this is just one instance, the terrorist group is threatening any religion that is not their own with deadly force.
The decision to drop food and water to aide the Kurdish people, opens the doors to possible American militant intervention. However, becoming involved at this point could interfere with the young central government that was built. Many believe, and I agree, that the central Iraqi government needs to manage their military in a way that they can combat terrorists without the need of external help. That being said, I am not quite sure they will be able to handle ISIS on their own, as the terrorist group is abusing the current weakness of the local government to run rampant. The current local government is experiencing unrest as the President of Iraq, Fuad Masum, named a new Prime Minister this week, Hader al-Abadi, a different one from the current. The current Prime Minister, Maliki, has, in response, refused to leave his post.
So the question is:
Considering our knowledge of the situation, do we choose to intervene, even though it may threaten the validity of the current government to prevent a genocide; do we supply weapons to the Peshmerga and limited air attacks to assist; or do we turn our heads and hope the local government can get the situation under control?
Current Solution:
Currently the US has chosen to assist via weapon supplies to Peshmerga and limited air strikes. These initial moves have helped slow ISIS’ advances and Kurdish forces have been able to retake some areas of the region previously lost to ISIS control.
My Predictions:
The Peshmerga have been provided weapons and have already proved that they can take cities back by force. Whether they will continue to fight ISIS once they are able to rid them from their region, is undetermined. The country of Iraq really needs to unite behind one leader to snuff out extremist groups such as ISIS, but I fear there is too much hatred to allow for that. i anticipate that Kurdistan will be able to keep their region safe, but the US (and perhaps France – they’ve thrown their own name in the ring recently) will have to intervene at the root of the issue, as well: ISIS’ training and recruitment locations. If they are able to do this, then we will see a large impact on their ability to do damage in the near future.
One final note:
The Kurds typically are a peaceful group and tend to operate almost autonomously from Iraq. From my gatherings, they are a more open understanding group of people who are more accepting of western ways of thinking. This, coupled with their natural resources, has brought in a recent boom of international companies, as well as expats. I sincerely hope the Kurdish people will finally get what they have wanted, and have been promised previously, by the end of all of this: their own country.
The original petition to have the White House address ISIS overall reached it’s needed 100,000 signatures. This led to communications from the White House outlining their initial plan to assist.
If you would like to sign the petition to have the White House address the Kurdish Independence issue officially, please visit this link:
Upon signing the petition, you will receive email updates from the White House addressing their thoughts and any plans to move forward.
In the end they may choose to not address the issue at hand with a specific action; however, why not throw the issues we hold dear in their face and demand they listen? Even if you don’t hold this issue specifically close to your heart, I urge you to start or review other open petitions!
That’s all for today folks, signing off,
Liz
ldrlifeandlove 