How to Defeat ISIS: What All of US Must Know

Background: Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is a Wahhabi terrorist organization that poses a clear and present danger to the entirety of humanity, including the United States and the European homelands. Despite military superiority of the Western coalition, ISIS continues to expand in the Middle East and beyond. A lack of understanding of ISISs historical and ideological roots has led to a poor and confused response by the Western coalition in attempting to combat this terrorist ideology. Summary: ISIS is a Wahhabi organization. Wahhabism, as an ideology, dates back more than 1,400 years. Due to their intolerant ideology and violent background, the majority of both Sunni and Shia Muslims throughout the world despise Wahhabis. Western alignment with and support of the autocratic Wahhabi regimes in the Middle East has promoted the widespread rise of various like-minded Wahhabi groups ranging from the Taliban and al-Qaeda to ISIS, Jaysh al-Islam, Al-Nusrah, and Boko-Haram, to name a few. The Western coalition needs to reassess their policies with regimes responsible for providing ideology, rhetoric, and funding to this abhorrent organization. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for an immediate change in US policy along the lines of the Cuban or Venezuelan crisis, one modified to adjust to Syrian realities to defeat ISIS. A comprehensive review and realignment of Middle East policy can defeat terrorism, including ISIS, while solving both the Syrian and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.