Defeat ISIS – Part I

Two years ago the world saw the sudden rise and expansion of ISIS in the Middle East and the growing insurgence of an anti-Christian sentiment which has led to an extreme number of suicide bombings and destabilization of the region. Essentially, ISIS is turning countries such as Iraq and Syria into a Jihadist Disneyland. While the terror and mass murders carried by ISIS are horrifying, the way they are beginning to carry out these bombings got a little more troubling this past weekend.

Over the weekend, ISIS strapped bombs to the chest of two different children and sent them on a suicide mission. The first bomber was sent to a wedding in southeast Turkey and killed 51 people and injured 94, including the bride and groom. The other child suicide bomber was apprehended in the city of Kirkuk before he could detonate the bomb. Both children were roughly between the age of 12 and 15, and have irrevocably changed the face of terrorism.

Since the inception of the Iraq War, America has been fighting an ideological war against an enemy who is not afraid to die making it one of the most difficult enemies to fight. While ISIS has grown in size over the past couple of years their use children to carry out their suicide missions has become part of their strategy to develop a new generation of believers.

Most extremist groups tend to shy away from the use of children, however, ISIS’s use of children in propaganda videos, firing squads, and beheadings are the norm and not the exception. Unfortunately, most children are not as lucky as the boy from Kirkuk who was caught before the bomb went off and authorities were able to remove the vest without any incident.

There is no doubt the level of terrorism and cost of allowing ISIS to continue to spread its vitriol message has cost the lives of innocent civilians, but the saddest part is watching from the sidelines as innocent children are kidnapped and forced to carry out missions in the name of Allah. The hardest part is coming to grips that unless there is a cohesive strategy and use of force to remove Assad from power, eliminating the safe haven Syria has become for ISIS, the number of lives lost will only increase. It is up to America to lead the fight against terrorism and send a message to the world we are still the beacon of hope and leadership and are committed to wiping ISIS from the map. While it will take more than a flashy hashtag and a press conference, here’s to hoping our leaders will rise to the challenge and do it for the children.

 Originally written for Political Storm