Davis 1

Tyler Davis
Mr.Phillips
AP English
23 November 2015
The ISIS Crisis
When people watch the news and see the mayhem going on in Syria, they empathize for
the citizens, but what can we do to help the country? We see people being murdered, kidnapped,
and fleeing their homes because ISIS has taken control of Syria. We see families being torn apart,
abused, and struggling to survive. What can we do to take down ISIS? We need the United
Nations to join together and defeat ISIS because they are growing, dividing the country, and
there appears to be no one capable of governing Syria.
Why is it so hard to stop ISIS? ISIS is growing rapidly, taking over cities in Syria and
now they are influencing the entire world to follow them. At first, ISIS was a terrorist group, but
now it takes over territory (Arango). They have changed their tactics and their goal is to not only
to overthrow the government but to take over the world. They have already begun this process
and are successful in doing so. The terrorist group has taken over major parts of Syria and won't
stop until they have seized all of the country. After they take over territories they claim it as an
Islamic State, "ISIS declares an Islamic state after seizing control of tracts of northeastern Syria"
(ProQuest Staff). ISIS is expanding and capturing land in Syria which will only make the group
larger and stronger. Not only has ISIS taken over cities, but they have also destroyed them.

Davis 2

In ISISs path of destruction, they have destroyed numerous places in Syria, making these
cites uninhabitable. There are a great deal of valuable items in Syria that ISIS has ruined and
taken control of. According to Loveday Morris, ISIS has seized territories around Syria and has
ruined famous antiques. These antiques have been around for hundreds of years and were very
important to Syrian culture. Not only antiques have been ruined but ancient cities are also being
demolished. In an article about ISIS, Brad Knickerbocker states that ancient sites, cities, and
villages are being taken over by ISIS which is growing in Syria tremendously. This terrorist
group is relentless in their attacks of Syria and are extremely harsh to people who go against
their beliefs. In the article, Race Against Time to Protect Heritage, Sarah Deeb expresses that,
Islamic State group has ruthlessly destroyed and looted sites that falls into its hands as it spreads
across Syria". ISIS will do whatever it takes to demolish Syria, which has caused a split inside
the country.
The country of Syria is not whole anymore, but has been divided and conquered by ISIS.
Syria has been isolated into three sections as a result of ISIS and the war throughout the country.
"Country is divided into three mini states: one controlled by the government, one controlled by
ISIS, and one controlled by Sunni and Kurdish opposition" (Tepperman). The last of Syria that
isn't taken over by ISIS is being "run" by the president and the other land is controlled by another
terrorist group. These territories will soon be taken over by ISIS, because they do not have the
power to fight back against the group. According to Zeina Karam, most areas that could form a
Sunni region are under the control not just by the Islamic State Group (ISIS) but a host of other
terrorist organizations. Eventually all of Syria will be under ISISs control which will only bring
more problems to the people in Syria. In order to get away from the brutal attacks by ISIS,
people in Syria are fleeing their homes to find safer places to live and raise their family.

Davis 3

Syrian refugees depart from Syria and go to nearby countries to find freedom and
happiness. The majority of these countries do not have enough resources and space for these
refugees which makes it incredibly challenging for refugees. Syrian refugees flee to Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq for safety. The resources in these countries are being depleted because
the increase in demand refugees require to survive. Some refugees sleep in camps and many die
on the way there from hazardous conditions (Pokalova). In numerous cases these refugees have
left dangerous conditions just to find in themselves in worse situations. Millions of Syrians leave
their homes for protection against the corrupt government and terrorist groups that are in Syria.
According to Elena Pokalova, over 11 million Syrians have deserted their homes in search of
safeguard from President Assad and ISIS. More than 7 million people have been displaced and
only 4 million has successfully left Syria. With all these citizens leaving Syria, who will be left
to take back control of the country from ISIS?
A countless number of people have tried to fight ISIS and reunify Syria but have failed
because they dont have enough power to stop the group. With the collapse of Syria, there are
very few people who are willing to fight ISIS and move them out the country. Some Syrians
believe they can unite the country and regain order in the country. ISIS has made it difficult for
Syria to reunite because they are causing Syria to crumble into pieces (Barnard). Syria is falling
apart because of the Islamic group, even with the efforts to rejoin the country they haven't been
successful.
In contrast, around the world there are countries that support and aid ISIS, these
countries include Iraq and Saudi Arabia. They supply the terrorist group with resources like
weapons and money which allows ISIS to grow and expand with no problems. Phillip Shishkin
believes that, "In Syria a land grab in some Arab-populated areas hasn't been opposed

Davis 4

internationally... it is hard to oppose anyone rolling back the Islamic State." If we stop supplying
ISIS with resources they won't be able to overthrow the government and gain territories in Syria.
The Syrian government will have a better chance of defeating ISIS if ISIS couldn't get money
and weapons. ISIS has affected not only Syria but other countries who are forced to take in these
refugees. In the past, we have defeated groups like this by making them inferior.
During World War II, many national powers came together to stop Hitler and the Nazis
from terrorizing Germany and nearby countries. Nazis are similar to ISIS because they both took
over cities and towns and attacked citizens living in these places. The only reason why the Allies
were able to stop Hitler is because they all came together and fought the Nazis. If countries do
not stop ISIS, they can grow and become as large as the Nazis and possibly more violent. Once
the Islamic group is defeated, there are numerous positive outcomes that will arise.
When ISIS is stopped, Syrian refugees can return to their homes and reunite with their
families. They won't have to be afraid of the terrorist organization because it will be taken out of
Syria. Countries that take in refugees wont have scarcity of resources and will be able to provide
for their citizens. More jobs will be available for people who actually live there, as oppose to
refugees taking the jobs. The Syrian government will be restored and improved so that next time
a terrorist group forms they will be prepared to defeat them.
It is time for a change in Syria, airstrikes have not been effective and the worlds
militaries havent been able to gain intelligence on the Islamic terrorist group to be able to stop
them. The United Nations needs to come together and fight ISIS so Syrians will be safe and the
government can be reestablished. If all of these countries unite together they would be powerful
enough to defeat this terrorist group, and restore Syria.

Davis 5

Works Cited
Arango, Tim. "Built on Terror, ISIS Is Planting Roots to Govern." New York Times. 22 Jul.
2015: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Barnard, Anne. "Syria Is Disintegrating Into Fragmented Parts Under Pressure of War." New
York Times. 16 Jul. 2015: A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Deeb, Sarah El. "Race Against Time to Protect Heritage." Los Angeles Times. 27 Sep. 2015:
A.3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Karam, Zeina, and Dan Perry. "After Ruinous War, Syria Regions May Go Separate Ways."
Appleton Post-Crescent. 29 Sep. 2015: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Nov.
2015.
Knickerbocker, Brad. "Islamic State Takes Over Ancient Syrian Cultural Site. Destruction..."
Christian Science Monitor. 21 May 2015: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov.
2015.
Morris, Loveday. "Islamic State's Pillaging of Antiquities Now Systematic." Washington Post.
09 Jun. 2015: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
ProQuest Staff. "Terrorism Timeline." Leading Issues Timelines. 2015: n.p. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Syria Timeline." Leading Issues Timelines. 2015: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20
Nov. 2015.
"Syrian refugee crisis." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2015.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Davis 6

Tepperman, Jonathan. "Syria's President Speaks: A Conversation with Bashar al-Assad."

Foreign Affairs. Mar/Apr 2015: 58+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.