ISIS: A New Threat

Erik Threet II

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, are a group of rebel Jihadists that are actively conquering countries in the Middle East. Originally, ISIS acquired money for their attacks through robberies and extortion, but once Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became the new leader of ISIS, their ways of gaining revenue began to change. 

As of now, ISIS carries out large-scale attacks in order to obtain resources to further build their empire. In December 2011, President Barack Obama pulled all but a few hundred United States soldiers out of Iraq, and since their departure, ISIS has grown exponentially in their money and territory. 

In February 2014, Al-Qaeda, a group of radical Sunni Muslims known for violence and unjust towards many countries around the world, cut ties with ISIS after fighting one another. However, several Middle East experts predict that ISIS “has never been dependent on AQ core for resources or direction, so the tangible impact of the decision may not be that significant.” Over the next six months that deemed to be true. In that time, ISIS became very active in their efforts to expand their federation. 

The terrorist group freed 1,000 prisoners, but kidnapped about 140 Kurdish schoolboys and demanded them to learn radical Islamic Theology, took over Mosul, Al-Qaim and Tikrit, and created a new Islamic state that abolished any prior state lines. By September, they had taken control of AL-Omar, which possesses the largest oil field in the country. 

ISIS has beheaded two American journalists and a British aid worker, along with broadening their territory by almost 1,000 square kilometers. Some say Obama has been hesitant and passive in many views about the situation. He sent 300 more troops into Iraq at the end of June, but they had already expanded vastly. ISIS is being called “the biggest threat since Saddam Hussein” and Americans are waiting on a solution.