By Soham Basu ’16, Contributor

The response of the United States regarding the Islamic State is absolutely crucial. The United States’ response dictates the rest of the world’s response, and there is a tremendous impact on our resources military and economic. The President (present and future) must deliver a response that is cognizant of the entire situation. Given our belligerent and involved history regarding world affairs, it is immensely important that we deliver a measured, calculated, and decisive response to the threat.

Before jumping to action, the priority should be to understand the situation at hand. This is not Al-Qaeda from the recent past nor is it Bin Laden’s pugnacious regime: the group—known as ISIS—is a far more fundamentalist organization. It is methodical, organized, and structured. Above that, at its core it is an Islamic idealists’ dream land. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, self-proclaimed Caliphate, is trying to revert the world back into the medieval age. In the minds of Baghdadi and his followers, ISIS believes it has the responsibility to cleanse the world of non-believers and prepare the world for an inevitable apocalypse. Members of ISIS are the radicals of the radicals. They are following the Qur’an down to every comma, hyphen, and period. Because everything that they do is dictated by the Qur’an, their actions are also dictated by the word of Prophet Mohammed. Beside their gruesome practices and primeval mentalities, they are waiting for something divine. They are waiting for the Army of Rome: who will fight ISIS in Dabiq, Syria and thus catalyze the Islamic apocalypse. The Obama administration’s response given the facts seems naïve at best. If we are not careful, the western world, consisting of the US and its allies, may become exactly the Army of Rome they are waiting for.

It is important that the response to the Islamic State is sound on all levels. The biggest factor to keep in mind is that we, the modern world, have never dealt with a fundamentalist group this radical who also has the resources, land, and followers to sustain itself. Other radical groups such as the IRA (Irish Republican Army) could be negotiated with, talked to, and bargained with at the table. ISIS however, is a different beast, negotiating with them is an impossible proposition (as of now). Our response has to be calculated and in unison with other countries. If we simply provoke ISIS into an armed conflict, we would be doing exactly what they want: inciting a Holy War. Perhaps the most strategic and intelligent retort will not even include military at all. The best way to defeat ISIS is to defeat their source of power. ISIS gets its power from Baghdadi, and he is so powerful is because he has one thing that no other radical Islamic group can claim: land. The fundamentalists control an area of land larger than the United Kingdom within Iraq and Syria. It is this land that legitimizes Baghdadi’s claim to the Caliphate. If he did not have the power that this property has given him, he would simply be just another crazy radical. Our best bet is to slowly drain ISIS of their resources: oil and black-market novelties. If they are unable to sustain themselves and keep their followers happy, ISIS will undergo a self-destruction as devastating as its inception.

Sources:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/08/25/syria-warning-airstrikes

Image Source:

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/09/12/thank-isis-for-lower-gas-prices/