The ISIS Crisis
Riley Walters /
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State (IS), the Daesh—these are various names given to the Islamist extremists whom nearly everyone has heard of by now. At the start of this year’s Aspen Security Forum, FBI Director James Comey noted, “ISIL is not your parents’ al-Qaeda.” The group’s lack of humanity and its ability to extend its influence internationally are likely greater than any other terrorist group’s in the region.
The Heritage Foundation has tracked the number of Islamist-inspired domestic terror plots and attacks since 9/11. Out of the 72 total so far, there have been 10 this year, all of which have a direct connection to ISIS. With its savvy use of social media, ISIS has been able to target those abroad who are easily swayed by the group’s misguided mission.
Director Comey also paid mention to the recent airstrike killing of a high-ranking Khorasan Group member. While this al-Qaeda offshoot, along with other regional terrorist groups, may be diminishing due to military efforts by those in the region, coming under the shadow of ISIS in the eyes of the international community and media or losing its most radical members as they go off to join ISIS, that doesn’t mean these groups are going to disperse anytime soon. As The Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Jim Phillips recently noted, and this can be applied to more than just ISIS, the Obama administration’s strategy against ISIS is lackluster and halfhearted.
At a recent event, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said he thinks the U.S. is losing both the struggle to counter violent extremists at home and the battle to counter the efforts of Islamist terrorists overseas.
As long as ISIS exists internationally, there will continue to be a threat to our domestic security. Without the proper domestic messaging, those living in the U.S., U.K., EU, or elsewhere will continue to swell the ranks of ISIS as foreign fighters. And as Sebastian Gorka of the Marine Corps University recently echoed, airstrikes alone have never brought down a regime. ISIS is not our parents’ al-Qaeda: It is a perverse, misguided group that builds its image through shock and awe. Surely the radical group must be dealt with accordingly in the larger fight against Islamist terrorism.