Serge Mass 2fer Revision

09/17/14

ISIS vs. US

The United States has just embarked on one of the biggest anti-terrorist campaigns in the country's history against a group by the name of ISIS. Obama has a plan to send in troop’s accompanied by drones after his . The loss of troops in war would be devastating to the United States. Sending in unmanned aircrafts and drone strikes to fight ISIS would be a cheaper and more ethical substitute instead of sending in many troops.

After the US launched their first strike against ISIS in late August of 2014, the leaders of ISIS kidnapped a reporter from the US, who was reporting in Syria at the time. James Foley was an important asset to the US so he can give his first hand opinions and experiences from the group. “Foley was killed on camera by a self-professed member of the terror group. “ (ABC News)  After the live execution, the US was in shock and terror. At that point Obama was outraged. With the use of earlier drone strikes, we could have eliminated ISIS before it spread like a cancerous cell to the Saudi Arabian peninsula. There were two more executions broadcasted after the beheading of James Foley. These inhumane acts could have been avoided with initiative from the US government and stopped this terroristic threat before they got the fame they wanted.Time is something the US cannot get back, it is just a matter of time that one more of these beheadings occurs or if Syria's schools are bomber again. It will lead to a much greater uproar than what is already presented.

ISIS is a very advanced terroristic group and knows a lot more about modern warfare and techniques. They understand the the US has had their hands tied dealing with AL-Qaeda for a long time. They are planning to become our next threat, currently having over 30,000 members nationwide. "Armed drones may provide the administration with a cosmetic military solution for the ongoing crisis, affording the U.S. the opportunity to look tough and engage ISIS without endangering US. troops or creating the impression that we we’re re-fighting a war that we declared over in 2011. " (Defense One) Since the drone strikes would be stealth, ISIS would not expect it. With no time to prepare or move away there will be no safe haven for anyone that threatens the US. The U.S. will have the element of surprise and avoid US casualties with this method.  They will be sitting underground and controlling the drone 5000 miles away in a safe and secure base. The drone strikes will give the U.S. the upper hand, slowly proving to ISIS the U.S. is not a pushover country.

Some may want to argue the statement that “drones would be more efficient and much more safe” with the statement that they would kill our own troops and civilians in the area of the attack, but an online political paper did some deeper research into the subject. Some anti-drone party members brought up a killing of 16 civilian in Afghanistan in 2012, but that was due by a bomb and not an unmanned drone. “Drones kill fewer civilians, as a percentage of total fatalities, than any other military weapon.” (Slate Magazine) With this being said, the drone strikes will lessen the total amount of U.S. casualties in war and also civilian casualties. It may be hard to say the term “safe war”, but the last thing the U.S. needs is more controversy around killings of innocent people. The ones that say that “we are not ready for this type of war” are the same ones that are not ready to move on to a much more advanced time in counterterrorism battles. The more advanced the battle is, the more likely the US will come out victorious in the fight against ISIS.

When asked, The United States Administration of Defense might say that the drone strikes would make the US lose the fight on terror, but on closer inspection, they would cut back on US casualties and cost of war. With the newest anti terrorism campaign against ISIS becoming increasingly serious, the U.S. needs to start getting with the program and into action. Obama declared war and his plan to send troops into the Saudi Arabian Peninsula would be devastating to the U.S. People need to realize that the U.S. is evolving as a county and so are the strategies on how they fight wars. The alternate plan to send in Drones to fight the battle and try to eliminate casualties is a much smarter attempt on this potential deadly war.

Work Cited:

Ferran, Lee. "ISIS Trail of Terror." ABC News. ABC News Network, 10 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

Tucker, Patrick. "The Pros and Cons of U.S. Drone Strikes in Iraq." Defense One. Defense One, 13 June 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

Saletan, William. "Drones Are the Worst Form of War, Except for All the Others." Slate Magazine. Slate Magazine, 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.