Mock 1

Jesse Mock
Mr. Maslonka
English 101
13 October 2014
ISIS
The United States and their foreign policy has always been a topic of dispute throughout
the country. In recent months, a terrorist group, ISIL or otherwise known as ISIS, Islamic State
of Iraq or Syria has been wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria. This situation brings into question
what most Americans are thinking about, Terrorism. Is this the real reason the United States is
involving itself in the ISIS situation? Many believe that their country is involved mainly because
they simply are a terrorist group. Some also say that with the Truman Doctrine, the United States
has grounds to intervene. Some others believe that it is just because the United States is proving
its power. This crisis is not the first dispute in this country but it certainly wont be the last. Last
year, the United States had a predicament where Ukraine was having a civil war and Russia was
using its influences to help one side in the war. This was against the Truman doctrine but it was
also due to the United States vendetta with Russia, which could be why the U.S. intervened and
issued sanctions against Russia.
The United States has a special sector/agency that is tasked with protecting the country
from terrorist actions, the National Counterterrorism Center. Anti-terrorism has been a big issue
ever since September 11, 2001 when the suicide bomber hijacked an airplane and crashed into
the twin towers, pentagon, and were supposed to attack another building but failed. Ever since
this tragic event, the country put anti-terrorism as a top priority, tying into how the country has
grounds to intervene in the ISIS situation that is in fact, a terrorist group by American definition.

Mock 2
Despite this fact, officials still believe that this group poses no direct threat to the United States.
Once Obama took office, he stated that Olson was, critical to U.S. success "in disrupting
terrorist cells, thwarting attacks and protecting the American people from evolving threats at
home and abroad"(Schwartz ). This interview from a statement that Obama gave helps explain
how terrorism has been of high priority. In an interview with Matthew Olson, the director of
NCC insisted there was no severe threat to the country. Olson stated, Although concern is high,
Olsen said [that] "at this point, we have no credible information that ISIL is planning to attack
the United States"(Rausnitz). This statement explains how there is concern throughout the
country but officials believe that the threat is not as significant as many believe it to be. This
group none-the-less still poses a emanate threat that the U.S. still needs to keep tabs on. In a
month past, the U.S. sent missile strikes at main ISIS bases that posed threat to neighboring Syria
that sought help from the United States. This action by the U.S. caused a topic of dispute,
whether their attack was against terrorism or not.
The Truman Doctrine, a document that in laymen terms means, Americans forsake the
Truman Doctrine of supporting "free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed
minorities or by outside pressures(May). This Doctrine was put in place back in the 1940s
when Truman pledged that the U.S. would help those countries on foreign soil whose freedom
was in threat. This Doctrine some believe is the reason that the United States is involved in the
ISIS situation. In a documentary on the past interventions of the United States and how
Americans currently view its intervention in Isis states,

You might think such a dubious record of military intervention might provoke
some sober second thoughts. But as the U.S. begins the latest chapter of its
Mideast war as it targets the Islamic State jihadist group (also known as ISIL or

Mock 3
ISIS) what is surprising is the almost total lack of opposition from anywhere in
America.

"We have been doing this for 34 years and it's not working," says Andrew
Bacevich, a professor in international relations at Boston University. "Maybe we
should take another approach. But that notion has no political traction, which is a
sign of how bankrupt our politics are. ... There has been no serious high-level
effort to ask the most simple questions: what were we trying to do; how did we do
it; and how did it come out"( Marsden).
This quote explains how for the past 40 years, the United States has taken responsibility or some
may say, the opportunity to intervene in international conflicts without much question from its
citizens on the reason or cause. The current involvement is that the ISIS group is taking over
territory in Syria causing Syria to seek help.
The United States took the responsibility along with NATO to assist this country to keep
their sovereignty from ISIL. This pledge has caused dispute in past events on whether it was
grounds for the United States to intervene in other countries crises even though it does not affect
the U.S. directly. The United States is currently recovering from a recession that his the country
in 2006, causing the economy to become fragile. Past events show that war can help an
economy, causing citizens of the country to believe that the United States is using war-like
involvement to help support its economy. This ideology can come into play for why the U.S. is
really involved in the ISIL situation, despite the fact that the Truman Doctrine gives them cause
to intervene. This repeating pattern of the United States intervening in foreign events can
explain why some people believe they are bullying those countries less superior militarily.

Mock 4
This power struggle between the leading powers of the world including, the United
States, Russia, China and some other countries makes people believe that the U.S. is simply
expressing its power in the ISIS crisis. This crisis is a purely violent situation that caused
thousands of people to die, thousands of families to feel pain and the loss of countless innocent
lives. The past, current, and evident future fighting between the U.S. and Syria v. ISIL is
evident. The Isis conflict is causing dispute on what the real motive is behind the intervention of
the U.S. Officials say that the United States is helping the people of Syria while at the same time
keeping America safe but it seems evident that they are expressing its power. President Obama
ordered and approved numerous missile strikes on ISIS headquarters that were meant to hinder
their attack on Syria. This attack is in some views obsessive and an unnecessary expression of
U.S. power that could have been resolved in less rash measures. The United States and its action
can be questionable but the results are all the same, it has and will more than likely keep
involving itself in foreign affairs.
The ISIS crisis is a topic of dispute that citizens of U.S. have mixed feelings and
explanations on. Many believe that their country is involved mainly because they simply are a
terrorist group. Some also say that with the Truman Doctrine, the United States has grounds to
intervene. Some others believe that it is just because the United States is proving its power.
These views can all be applied to the involvement that the U.S. has in this situation and what the
real motive is.

Mock 5
Works Cited
Rausnitz, Zach. NCTC Chief: ISIL Won't Carry Out Large-Scale Attack in US. Newton: Questex Media
Group LLC, 2014. ProQuest. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
May, Clifford D. "The Fight for America's Soul." National PostSep 08 2014. ProQuest. Web. 19 Oct.
2014 .
Schwartz, Felicia. "U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Resigns; Obama Said Matt Olsen
Crucial to U.S. Thwarting Attacks, Disrupting Cells." Wall Street Journal (Online)Jul 09 2014.
ProQuest. Web. 19 Oct. 2014 .
Marsden, William. "'Exceptionalism' Stokes Mideast Failures; Ex-Colonel Says Americans can no
Longer Think Independently." Edmonton JournalOct 11 2014. ProQuest. Web. 19 Oct. 2014 .