Recently, The Islamic State (ISIS) fighters have successfully been driven out of Kobani, a town on the Syria-Turkey border. Had they gained control of this huge part of the border, controlled by Kurds, it would have been a huge victory in terms of territory. After four months of fighting for this land, the Kurdish victory is a brief sigh of relief. However, ISIS is nonetheless dangerous. The group has been releasing videos of beheading hostages and terrorizing towns in the Middle East, taking innocent lives. In the past two weeks, the group has released videos of two Japanese hostages being beheaded. ISIS is out of control and growing rapidly. How did it become so prevalent? George Bush could not have been surprised because he predicted the exact circumstances during his speech about the Iraq War on July 12, 2007.
In Bush’s speech he stated that pulling troops out of Iraq before the right time “would mean we would be witnessing mass killings on a horrific scale.” ISIS has taken over towns in the Middle East, leaving destruction in its path. The group has used beheadings, crucifixions, and has even buried women and children alive, as they try to spread their beliefs. Bush warned that by taking troops out of Iraq, a safe haven for terror groups would be created. He was right. The Islamic State now covers a large amount of territory, the size of Belgium. By removing U.S. troops before the commanders on the ground said that the area was stable enough, a new terror group was able to form and flourish. In his speech, Bush said, “it would mean increasing the probability that American troops will have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous.” Unfortunately, he was correct in his predictions. Now, our troops are being deployed again to confront this enemy. The more relevant terror groups had already been conquered at the end of the Bush administration. However, by revoking all of our forces, terrorists were able to regroup, gather in Syria and then once again, establish themselves in Iraq.
To address the debate that we should not be sending our troops back, this country has a duty to protect our citizens. ISIS has personally threatened our country and beheaded American citizens on video for the world to see. We cannot sit back and let that happen again; we must fight. We have a duty as Americans to defend our rights and help those who do not have as great of defense programs. It is important that we make it clear that we do not tolerate any single one of our innocent citizens being brutally murdered for their beliefs. It goes against our fundamental beliefs of freedom. Our country must stand firmly against this terror group and take actions to defeat them before The Islamic State expands into even more territory, destroying the lives of innocent people and brainwashing the naive.