American Journalist
James Foley was recently beheaded by terrorist group ISIS, after being held
captive in Syria. Foley was a freelancer
for GlobalPost and was reporting in Syria at the time of his capture. US troops were sent into Syria to infiltrate ISIS and obtain hostages. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate or save any. His captors originally requested a sum of 100
million euros for his release, and had also demanded money from Foley’s
family. After their requests were unable
to be met, the Islamic extremist group published a video of Foley being
beheaded. He was only 40 years old. I chose
this current event because it can help us realize just how horrible things are
in the Middle East right
now. It’s hard to imagine these things
happening without experiencing them firsthand but this incident makes everything
happening there seem a whole lot more real.
Obama has been calling ISIS a ‘cancer’ in recent responses to this
horrible killing. He has said that we’ll
continue to fight against this terrorism and replace it with “a sense of hope
and civility”. Personally, I think this is the wrong thing to do. If we do defeat ISIS and bring them down,
then what? There’s always going to be
another group coming up to replace them.
Many have even called them a credible replacement for Al Qaeda, which
shows there is no shortage of these sick people with the same beliefs and
desires. To me, it makes most sense to
get out of these places in the Middle East entirely. While it is possible we could eradicate this
problem entirely, it would be extremely difficult and doesn't seem like it
could happen anytime soon. If we remove
ourselves from these hostile areas we don’t have to risk the lives of our
citizens. I’m aware that our presence
there has helped many people but I don’t find it reasonable to keep risking
lives and spending all this money to put troops there if we’re dealing with a
conflict that seemingly has no end.
My question to you is do you agree with my opinion that we should get entirely out of the Middle East? Why, or why not?
Also, do you think there's a better way to deal with these terrorist groups?
I do agree with your opinion that we should get out of the Middle East. What I don't understand about the United States is that we have so many problems here ourselves, but instead of trying to solve them we busy ourselves by trying to fix other countries issues. We are not the entitled peacemakers of the world. We do not get paid to keep the peace. Although I think it would be heartless to just leave countries defenseless the only way I think we should be staying in the Middle East would be if the terrorist were a direct threat to our homeland or if they hurt our imports and exports. The United States is in trillions of dollars of debt, but we continue to spend money and man power in other places. We should focus on aiding them with ideas and plans verses money that we don’t have. The concept is mind-boggling. Additionally, I couldn’t think of a better way to handle terrorist groups. There is nothing you can do about them but try to eliminate the current threatening ones and prevent more from joining anyway you could. A safe and cheap alternative is not available at this time.
ReplyDeleteThe only other real way to get rid of terrorist threats and attacks against our country that has not been mentioned is to truly make them fear the United States and its government. It may sound ridiculous, but Zachary is right there will always be another group so if the terrorist groups fear America then they will leave America alone. However, as many people must realize, the odds of this happening are at an all time low which is why I agree with the only knowledgeable solution and that is to get out of the Middle East entirely. I understand that the area we are involved in is very rich in oil supply and it would be very beneficial to the United States to remain a part of their trade and alliance. However, it comes to a point where the United States has more to lose now and would benefit even more by leaving the Middle East altogether. Also, it is completely accurate to say that the United States is using tons of money and resources in the Middle East that our governent could be using to pay back debts and solve our own impending problems. Not only this, but also the killing of so many American citizens should be reason enough to get ourself out of a country that is now a bigger threat than benefactor. Therfore, I agree with the statement that in order to get rid of our major terorist threats the United States must evacuate itself from the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are coming from with your thoughts but we are so powerful that we should be helping other countries who aren't as fortunate as us and face these problems. War will never end but how can we sit back and watch these terrorist groups kill innocent people when there is something we could do to stop it. We shouldn't exploit all of our resources on this matter but we should do what we can to stop ISIS and there dominant reign on innocent bystanders. I do agree however that we have problems of our own to be worrying about, and lots of them but that doesn't mean we shouldn't use the power and strength we do have. Leaving and getting out of these war zones isn't going to save us either. We need to fight to shut these groups down or else soon enough these small killings are going to turn into large threats on our own soil.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea. Although some may think that we should help these countries, we have to think of ourselves as well. As Ryan said, we have many issues occurring here, in the U.S., that happen on a daily basis. But, we never hear about them or are able to do anything because these issues in the Middle East take its place on media. We are sending soldiers overseas to these places where the enemy (in this case: terrorist groups), will never go away. If we solve the issue with one terrorist group, another will follow and so on. They all have one goal, which is to take down the U.S. or at least make us weak, and they are doing that by having us send these troops over so we do not have as strong as a defense system as we could. In these circumstances, we must think of what is better for OUR country not others'. Ultimately, I agree that the United States should evacuate itself from the Middle East.
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