It is important to take time to know about the world. It is unfortunately very easy to get trapped in the “Penn State bubble” or my own “personal bubble”.
How can we remind ourselves to step outside ourselves? How can we remind ourselves to educate ourselves outside our primary interests? For me, one motivation is knowing that if I want to make an impact on the world I must know about the world. Another attempt at motivation is that I try to surround myself by people who are also interested in knowing in the world so that there is a social pressure to be up to date on events. And finally, I try to take opporturtunities like these blog posts and make them a time for me to read and critically question world events.
This week I am taking the time to better educate myself and understand the current events in Syria and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. I am very confused on the details of the conflict and hope taking this time will help me to better understand the complexity of the war. Much of this post will be facts about the current state of the world, but this post is an exercise of leadership for me; I am stepping outside with primary interests and challenging myself to be an educated citizen. If you are specialized in the subject or just disagree with anything I write below, please talk to me about it.
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What is the ISIS?
ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It is the Sunni Jihadist group in the Middle East, and in 2013, it “emerged from remnants of Al Queda and began to operate in Syria” (New York Times).
The Syrian Civil War seems to have provided ISIS with an opportunity to gain power.
” In 2013, Hezbollah entered the war in support of the Syrian army.[67][68] In the east, theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), a jihadist militant group which was initially linked to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, made rapid military gains in both Syria and Iraq, eventuallyconflicting with the other rebels. In July 2014, ISIS controlled a third of Syria’s territory and most of its oil and gas production, thus establishing itself as the major opposition force.[69]“--Syrian Civil War Wikipedia
Syrian Civil War
The Syrian government has military support from Russia and Iran while the rebels have recieved weapons from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States.
Where is the line between the Rebel group and ISIS?
I am not entirely sure. I am trying to dissect this out. From my understanding the ISIS is a sub-set of the rebels, and in a way the ISIS group has taken advantage of the conflict to spread the power.
According to the New York Times, in recent months ISIS has gained large expanses of territory and “ISIS has become more attractive to would-be militants because, unlike Al Qaeda, it has seized territory that it rules by strict Islamic law.”
What is ISIS doing? Why are they dangerous?
The Obama Administration says the ISIS militant group “poses the greates threat to the United States since Al Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.” (New York Times)
The ISIS is incredibly brutal and is gaining attraction through its reputation. They have tortured and mutilated citizens under the islamic creed.
“The United Nations reported that in the 17 days from 5 to 22 June, ISIS killed more than 1,000 Iraqi civilians and injured more than 1,000.”-ISIS Wikipedia
“On 29 May, a village in Syria was raided by ISIS and at least 15 civilians were killed, including, according to Human Rights Watch, at least six children.[332] A hospital in the area confirmed that it had received 15 bodies on the same day.[333] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that on 1 June, a 102-year-old man was killed along with his whole family in a village in Hama.”- ISIS Wikipedia
Current State?
As of August 22, the United States is considering military air strikes on the ISIS in Syria. President Obama is attempting to create a long-term plan to fight of the Islamic State in Syria, but there is reasonable hesitance to put US military forces directly into the Syrian war (Wall Street Journal)
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I definitely know more about the Syrian conflict than I did this morning. Here’s to continuing to better understanding the world around us and striving for peace.