As the New York Times states in an article posted on the day of the address, Obama has essentially proposed to expand a military campaign in the Middle East against Sunni militants. This will be done by deploying 475 American military advisers to Iraq to train Syrian rebel militants. President Obama is also suggesting selective air strikes, but assures the public that these actions will not lead to another war in Iraq.
The Times quotes Obama's promise to keep United States soldiers away from a ground battle overseas.
"These American forces will not have a combat mission; we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq," Obama said, adding that the mission "will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; it will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil."
Obama is also forming allies to assist the United States in the fight against ISIS. However, a CNN article reports that although some 40 nations have agreed to help in the efforts, the exact names and roles of these countries aren't quite clear at this time.
At this point, ISIS has shown sweeping brutality in their movements through Iraq, including the videotaped beheading of two American journalists. The map below is from the above-mentioned Times article, and depicts the geographical control ISIS holds in Iraq.
Recent threats by ISIS members are bringing back memories of the 9/11 attacks, but not everyone is unanimous about what should be done with ISIS.
Although some members from both Republican and Democratic parties disagree with President Obama's call to action, majority opinion for each affiliation seems to fall under two categories.
1. Republicans generally support Obama's decision to take military action against ISIS.
2. Democrats are more wary of the militaristic implications Obama's proposal may invoke. I.e. another ground war in Iraq.
A recent Fox News online article reports that even Rand Paul, a usual skeptic of hasty war actions, is taking a stronger stance against ISIS. A recent statement by Paul illustrates this point.
"If I were president, I would call a joint session
of Congress. I would lay out the reasoning of why ISIS is a threat to our national security and seek congressional authorization to destroy ISIS militarily."
Conversely, an article published on The Wire highlights the reversed opinions of several Democratic party leaders, including Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.). Udall issued a statement on his campaign website, stating "As we have seen in the past, American boots on the ground cannot stamp out an extreme ideology and the Iraqis must take responsibility for defending their own people."
Courtesy: Google Images
The United States has no shortage of history with Iraq. According to an article on the Origins website, the conflict reaches back to the Gulf War in 1990 (and even before) when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the United States employed Operation Desert Shield to keep Iraqi militants from further infiltrating the country.
Although the conflict continued, it wasn't until 2003 that the United States engaged in a full ground war with Iraq. This decision came after the 9/11 attacks, when President George W. Bush sought to end Saddam Hussein's reign. In the "surge" of 2006, U.S. troops and Sunni allies defeated Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda. In December of 2011, the final troops withdrew from the country after nearly nine years of overseas conflict. After this, ISIS slowly rebooted, and even joined forces with Al Qaeda before splitting up in early 2014.
The same story of history holds true for the United State's and with Syria. During the Cold War, Syria strengthened relations with Russia, which put them at odds with NATO and its allies. U.S. relations with the country continued to decline as Syria and Egypt went to war with Israel in 1973, and the U.S. strongly supported Israel in the second-phase of conflict. The Gulf War brought the two countries together on a limited basis in agreement for dislike of Saddam Hussein, but relations worsened during the Iraq war in 2003. The United States didn't approve of the Syrian government allowing the country to become a major transit point for foreign militants entering Iraq.
In 2011, the government started acting brutally toward the public's desire for freedom, launching a nearly three-year-long internal conflict. The U.S. Department of State's website states that the United States supports the Syrian rebels in their fight for freedom and democracy.
