"The United States will not be intimidated by the killers of two American journalists," President Barack Obama said last Wednesday.
The Islamic terrorist organization ISIS has murdered two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, in retaliation against United States airstrikes carried out against ISIS targets in Iraq. Videos of their beheadings were posted on the Internet on August 19 and September 2 of 2014, respectively. Foley had been kidnapped in late November 2012, and Sotloff in August 2013-although significant efforts were made to secure the hostages, and ransom fees were considered during a short period of negotiations, the videos were released within two weeks of each other. Their authenticity was later confirmed by US analysts.
The rather brutal and graphic nature of the videos led many to condemn ISIS with a particular zeal. Among the most angered officials was Vice President Joe Biden, who said that the US would pursue the killers 'to the gates of hell' in his speech for justice during an appearance near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Due to the killings, Obama has changed from a 'no strategy' stance on ISIS to one of strategic planning. Speaking Wednesday, he said that in order to 'degrade and destroy' ISIS, the world not only needs a conventional military strategy, but a regional one as well.
I think that ISIS is a particularly barbaric organization. To use this method is not only cruel, it's brutal and increases the impact by giving human faces and figures to the organization and its victims- the 'executioner' that appears in the videos and delivers a personal speech to Obama himself, and the victims, who are not statistics of mass murders or bombings, but individual human beings who are murdered graphically and mercilessly. Obama should not be loitering in his stance against the terrorist group- they are a uniquely violent brand who should be put down at once.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/03/world/meast/isis-beheading-videos/index.html?iref=allsearch
(I summarized the article before it got updated- may be a bit different)
I agree with Sam, completely.
ReplyDeleteIt's shocking that it took the murders of two American journalists for Obama to inact a plan to go towards disbanding ISIS. This group is not only a threat to America, but to the rest of the world.