Down But Not Out

Previous ISIS leader, al Baghdadi 

Throughout the past couple years ISIS has struggled massive defeats. Initially a strong American alliance with the Kurds lead to the removal of ISIS forces from Northern Syria. This was a large victory because it heavily setback ISIS plans. President Trump recently removed all American forces out of Northern Syria leaving the Kurdish people extremely vulnerable to genocide despite their previously help with the deterring of  ISIS. This moved caused mass controversy not only because it leaves the Kurds extremely vulnerable, but also it gives ISIS a renewed hope. However, over the past week the leader of ISIS, Baghdadi, was killed.

The Untied States of America has been extremely focused on eliminating al Baghdadi over the past year. Luckily, due to the fruitful relationship between Iraq and the US, the Iraqi military supplied information that directly led to the assassination of al Baghdadi. The information was obtained through an arrest the Iraqis made of two of al Baghdadi’s inner circle roughly two weeks ago (See Link). The United States utilized this crucial mission to plan an operation and seize the opportunity.

The strike on al Baghdadi’s compound had to be impeccable in order to eliminate the possibility of escape. Luckily the US forces did a fantastic job. In order to gain a proper visual on the compound the Americans utilized satellites. Once a visual was established US forces used US F-15 fighter jets and MQ-9 Reaper Drones to conducts multiple air sticks on the facility. The Americans then approached the compound and called out for all civilians to come out if they wanted to remain unharmed. 4 women and a man approached, they were repeatedly told to stand down, they then proceeded to engage the American troops and were eliminated. The Americans then established a position inside of the compound and found al Baghdadi hiding in a tunnel. Among him were 2 kids. He realized escape was impossible and blew up a suicide vest he was wearing. He killed himself and the two kids (See Video). This was a major victory in the fight against ISIS, however a threat is still very real.

History has proven that once a terrorist leader is eliminated, it’s not the end. Al-Qeada is a prime example of this. Post-assassination of Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qeada was still reeking havoc across the globe. As of last Thursday, ISIS announced their new leader and will continue to rain hell upon the world (See Link). But there is still a large victory here non-the-less. ISIS no longer has the ability to act as a pro to-state: they no longer have access to vast amounts of Israeli land. Alougth there 10,000-15,000 fighters still roam through the Middle East, they no longer have a safe haven, a country they can go to when times are troubling (See Link). ISIS has been cornered, but they are still dangerous. 

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Syrian troops entering Kurdish territory after the deal was struck

Trump recently pulled many American troops out of Syria and received massive criticism by parliament. He says that a “full withdrawal” is the next step, however this leaves the Kurdish extremely vulnerable. The Kurdish don’t have a country to themselves, however they occupy Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. The Kurdish recently struck a deal with the Syrians in order to gain protection from the Turkish (See Link). The US was previously protecting the Kurds in Syria, but due to the withdrawal of US troops, they have been left vulnerable. The Turkish have more men, more guns, and bigger bombs than the Kurds. If they wanted to, they could launch an invasion and eliminate the population. The Kurds needed protection and they needed it fast so they struck this deal.

By abandoning the Kurds the US have pushed them into a desperate corner. They are looking for help of any kind and it seems that they may turn to the Russians. Since the US pulled their troops out the Republican Party has become enraged. They are saying how all recent measures against terrorism and progress made has been lost due to the withdrawal of troops. Controversial missions against the Islamic state where being performed by these troops, since the troops are now gone, these missions can’t be performed anymore (See Link). This could loosen American influence and control of the Middle East. Worst of all, since the Kurds are now turning towards the Russians they might gain a massive amount of power in this area. The Russians have been known to strike deals with questionable figures in the Middle East and the US withdrawal of troops means that the Russians have now acquired an easier way of communicating with these figures. The Kurdish leader even said,  “We know that we would have to make painful compromises with Moscow and Bashar al-Assad if we go down the road of working with them.” (See Link) He knows that the Syrians and Russians will take advantage and use their resources and influence for their own benefit. However, they are okay with that if it means avoiding the genocide of the Kurdish people. 

Pulling American troops out of northern Syria exposed the Kurdish people and could loosen control of the Middle East. Americans have helped the Kurdish for years and recently extinguished ISIS. But something that many people don’t realize is that the Kurdish were mainly responsible for the thwarting of ISIS (See Link). They fought in many battles against ISIS and lost thousands of lives in the process, all to help the US. Now the US is pulling its troops out of the area leaving them vulnerable. It’s unfair to these people who have done so much for the US and fought along side its soldiers. The US has no right to be upset that the Kurds have struck a deal with the Syrians and probably will align with the Russians in the near future. The US abandoned them and if they have to choose between aligning with the Russians and being taken advantage of, or the genocide of their people, they are going to choose the Russians. Yes, it will loosen the US influence over the Middle East and grant Russia more control, but we have no right to be upset about it. When we chose to withdraw those troops, we knew that this would be a direct consequence. Every action has ramifications, and the US now have the deal with those. A loss of control over the Middle East may be a consequence that the US must deal with.

Family History

My family has been in America for an extremely long time now. My first ancestors came over from England on one of this ships after the Mayflower, so we've been here for a while. From that point on we split in all different directions and went all over the country. My dad grew up in Nebraska and my mom grew up in Kentucky. My parents then met at a party in their mid 30's, they obviously hit it off and had me. Since I've been born we've moved around a lot: we started in Denver, Colorado then moved to Highland park. From there we went to Texas then we rented a house in Northfield. The owner of the house continued living there but the house was huge so it was fine. Her son would visit periodically, and eventually we found out he had an addiction to cocaine. We immediately moved out of the house and into a hotel for 6 months. After that we found a home in Northfield where we currently reside.

I know absolutely nothing about my fathers family history, but my moms family has some interesting features. Her great uncle created the Roebling bridge in Kentucky, it was actually the first suspension bridge. For every person who crossed he got $0.01, he made a ridiculous amount of money. Then two kids came along and blew the entire fortune, so my mom grew up middle class. This whole incident set a precedent in my moms die of the family, take care of your money.