A video released today revealed an ISIS flag, and troops, south of Kabul in Afghanistan. Although the Afghan president has expressed his concern about the threat that ISIS poses to his country, any ISIS presence in Afghanistan, where US troops are still in the process of withdrawal, is worrisome. While the Taliban and ISIS are definitely not on good terms, the idea of ex-Taliban members, or even current ones, joining forces with ISIS is downright terrifying. The revival of a strong terrorist presence in Afghanistan could potentially slow, or even stop, the withdrawal of American troops from the area.
ISIS' recent terrorist attacks have ranged from videos of them torturing and killing Americans, Syrians, and anyone opposed to their Jihadist ideals to planned assassinations, such as the one on the French satire group, Charlie Hebdo.
The issue of US involvement in the Middle East/Africa has been a recurring problem throughout the last 20 years. On one side of the spectrum, the US' failure to intervene in what came to be the Rwandan Genocide was catastrophic. Despite this, it any notion of the US becoming increasingly involved with recent conflicts such as Libya or Syria has faced heavy resistance.
This raises the question, at what point would the Obama administration consider a more serious intervention plan, placing American troops on the ground?
Do you think that the current situation calls for increased intervention?
No comments:
Post a Comment