Introduction
As of late, ISIS seems to be all over the news. With each air attack and taped execution, one question keeps popping up into the minds of our citizens, who is ISIS? ISIS is an acronym which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terrorist group that first came into view around 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The current leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, plans to take control of all Muslims worldwide, and will kill any “infidels” who stand in their way. This grave act of abuse towards anyone who doesn’t follow ISIS is a threat to the United States and our allies. ISIS has used means of social media to try and recruit people from the United States to join their cause by offering them money, power, and protection. …show more content…
Background Info on ISIS
ISIS has only recently been recognized by the United States and our allies due to the threats and terrorist acts by ISIS. However, ISIS has been around for almost 12 years, but through the use of social media and different forms of recruitment, they have grown in numbers, and therefore, power. ISIS was first started by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a sub group to al-Qaeda. The main purpose to ISIS is to gain control of all Muslims throughout the world and create an Islamic state. ISIS has many different threats to hurt the U.S. and its allies, the more these threats grow, the more power they will gain, “First is the fact that an extremely hostile organization with a long history of lethal attacks against the West, particularly the U.S., now has a territorial base from which to plan and organize terrorism against the U.S. and us allies, as well as to destabilize the rest of Iraq.” (Parker 3). With the death of Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda territory was now poorly defended, which was a perfect way for ISIS to become known. ISIS took that territory for their own and spread their message through public executions. ISIS has gained top military leaders which have allowed them top training and weapons to fight against …show more content…
A strategy developed over years has evolved into a campaign for ISIS. And now they have the world’s attention. ISIS is using social media to communicate directly to Americans. The filmed execution of James Foley was the first time most Americans saw ISIS address them. James Foley was an American journalist who working as a freelance war correspondent during the Syrian Civil War, he was abducted in November, 2012, in Syria. He was beheaded in August 2014 as a response to American airstrikes in Iraq, thus becoming the first American citizen killed by ISIS. Through the use of these executions, ISIS is seeing more recruits flowing in “These highly ritualized killings have galvanized international opposition to the group – and helped attract a wave of foreign recruits to the ISIS cause.” (Hume 2). Starting in Iraq and later spreading to Syria, ISIS used social media to publicize its campaign of slaughter and threaten its enemies. The group’s military expertise was enhanced by its reputation for barbarianism, spread by their use of social media. Some may wonder how is the internet and social media relevant to ISIS? “The internet enabled the Tsarnaevs to build the pressure cooker bombs which ultimately claimed the lives of three and injured 254---some very seriously.” (Mueller 17). This fact shows how powerful the internet can be to terrorists, once terrorist groups know how to use it; they
As of late, ISIS seems to be all over the news. With each air attack and taped execution, one question keeps popping up into the minds of our citizens, who is ISIS? ISIS is an acronym which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terrorist group that first came into view around 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The current leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, plans to take control of all Muslims worldwide, and will kill any “infidels” who stand in their way. This grave act of abuse towards anyone who doesn’t follow ISIS is a threat to the United States and our allies. ISIS has used means of social media to try and recruit people from the United States to join their cause by offering them money, power, and protection. …show more content…
Background Info on ISIS
ISIS has only recently been recognized by the United States and our allies due to the threats and terrorist acts by ISIS. However, ISIS has been around for almost 12 years, but through the use of social media and different forms of recruitment, they have grown in numbers, and therefore, power. ISIS was first started by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a sub group to al-Qaeda. The main purpose to ISIS is to gain control of all Muslims throughout the world and create an Islamic state. ISIS has many different threats to hurt the U.S. and its allies, the more these threats grow, the more power they will gain, “First is the fact that an extremely hostile organization with a long history of lethal attacks against the West, particularly the U.S., now has a territorial base from which to plan and organize terrorism against the U.S. and us allies, as well as to destabilize the rest of Iraq.” (Parker 3). With the death of Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda territory was now poorly defended, which was a perfect way for ISIS to become known. ISIS took that territory for their own and spread their message through public executions. ISIS has gained top military leaders which have allowed them top training and weapons to fight against …show more content…
A strategy developed over years has evolved into a campaign for ISIS. And now they have the world’s attention. ISIS is using social media to communicate directly to Americans. The filmed execution of James Foley was the first time most Americans saw ISIS address them. James Foley was an American journalist who working as a freelance war correspondent during the Syrian Civil War, he was abducted in November, 2012, in Syria. He was beheaded in August 2014 as a response to American airstrikes in Iraq, thus becoming the first American citizen killed by ISIS. Through the use of these executions, ISIS is seeing more recruits flowing in “These highly ritualized killings have galvanized international opposition to the group – and helped attract a wave of foreign recruits to the ISIS cause.” (Hume 2). Starting in Iraq and later spreading to Syria, ISIS used social media to publicize its campaign of slaughter and threaten its enemies. The group’s military expertise was enhanced by its reputation for barbarianism, spread by their use of social media. Some may wonder how is the internet and social media relevant to ISIS? “The internet enabled the Tsarnaevs to build the pressure cooker bombs which ultimately claimed the lives of three and injured 254---some very seriously.” (Mueller 17). This fact shows how powerful the internet can be to terrorists, once terrorist groups know how to use it; they