Tag Archives: ISIS

The Foolishly Self-Proclaimed “Islamic State”

Sabrina Iman ArsalaneSabrina Arsalane is a freshman in international studies major.

A gruesome 22-minute video began to circulate social media on January 27, showing a Jordanian pilot named Muath al-Kaseasbeh being burned alive in a cage by ISIS. Lieutenant al-Kaseasbeh was flying over Syria on Dec. 24 when his F-16 was shot down by ISIS militants. Continue reading The Foolishly Self-Proclaimed “Islamic State”

DON ON THE STREET: AMERICAN INTERVENTION?

Katie Ward
Staff Writer

President Obama asked congress for an additional 1,500 troops and $5.6 billion in defense funding earlier this week to continue the fight against Islamic state militants in Iraq. ISIS, known for killing dozens of people at a time, typically in a gruesome and public way, has been considered an international threat to many leading nations. Do you believe that President Obama’s decision to de- ploy more troops is appropriate? Or do you believe, that after our many years at war in the Middle East, we should take a lesser role in solving this crisis? Why do you believe so? Continue reading DON ON THE STREET: AMERICAN INTERVENTION?

Students Debate Airstrikes Against ISIS

Our Bombs Make Things Worse

Ian
Ian Scullion is a senior politics major

Thirteen years ago this month, President George W. Bush declared a “war on terror.” He claimed that Al Qaeda had attacked us because “they hate our freedoms.” Yet Osama Bin Laden’s manifesto—“Letter to America”—gives a noticeably different explanation. Along with heavy doses of extremism and anti-Semitism, it is comprised of a list of grievances, which include but are not limited to: our political and economic support for the ongoing Israeli military occupation, our continued support for repressive autocratic regimes in the Middle East, our support for Russian atrocities in Chechnya, our hundreds of military bases around the world, and our genocidal sanctions on Iraq during the ‘90s. In other words, Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda hated our imperialism and interventions, not our so-called freedoms. Continue reading Students Debate Airstrikes Against ISIS