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ISIS Failure

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As a new presidential team enters the White House, the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an important issue that will require changes in strategy if American foreign policy hopes to successfully eliminate the threat of ISIS in the Mideast and beyond. The current policy of the United States on dealing with terrorism through military action emphasizes: utilizing allies, keeping American ground troops out of Iraq and Syria, and direct action through military strikes. This strategy has been relatively successful in the past in keeping ISIS in check, but the recent rising power of the radical state suggests this policy is failing to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating the threat entirely. In order to reach the American …show more content…

foreign policy, new measures need to be considered in order to defeat ISIS. Current President Donald Trump has promised to develop “a new plan to defeat ISIS” that is “foolproof” and will “absolutely crush” ISIS, potentially including “bomb[ing] the shit out of them”, taking their oil, and “tak[ing] out their families” (Quest 2017). Trump has yet to release this promised plan but any new plan needs to consider the option of the use of stronger military force and a greater military presence in the region. The current U.S. foreign policy was a good start, but a successful policy needs to be more aggressive in order to achieve the end goal -- the ultimate defeat of ISIS. Militarily, more U.S. troops need to be deployed to fight on the ground with partner forces that they have been trained and armed (Brands, Feaver 2017). This will allow for greater U.S. control over the actions of partner forces and give greater direct control over future missions and attacks on groups and territories. Once ground forces are stronger, it will allow for greater communication between forces on the ground and forces conducting drone strikes and other attacks and create a way for special operations to conduct raids to collect intelligence, kill or capture leaders, and reduce the amount of territory ISIS holds (Brands, Feaver …show more content…

The current foreign policy includes a military strategy of airstrikes, drone attacks, and training ally forces to fight on the ground. The ultimate goal of this policy is the defeat of ISIS. Unfortunately, current U.S. policy is failing to do so because it is not aggressive enough to stop the ability of ISIS to capture new land and gain new fighters. A more aggressive policy must be implemented that puts U.S. troops on the ground to fight alongside allied troops. A stronger military approach will give the United States more control over strategy and successes. Putting more troops on the ground will allow the U.S. to more directly advise missions, control attacks, and allow for greater sharing of intelligence. This will ultimately give the U.S. greater capability to capture and kill ISIS leaders and halt the growth of the organization. Unfortunately, this approach will put the lives of many more U.S. soldiers in danger and could require an indefinite commitment of U.S. troops in the Middle East. However, the potential cost of the lives of these soldiers will save the lives of many innocent civilians both in the present and in the future and both in the Middle East and the United States. Furthermore, regardless of the strategy adopted, including the current policy, fighting ISIS could go on indefinitely. After all, it has already gone on for three years with no end in sight. It is surely worth

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