ISIS: The first terror group to build an Islamic state?

     The CNN article "ISIS: The first terror group to build an Islamic state?" by Tim Lister discusses issues regarding the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist group in the Middle East. ISIS, a staunch Sunni group, has one and only goal: to create a caliphate in the Middle East. Created in 2006 as a of branch of al-Qaeda, ISIS, then led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was supposed to ignite a war between the Sunni muslims and the Shia muslims. Now, ISIS is well financed and well organized, making it the most dangerous terrorist group in the world.  Led by their current leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS has taken military control of key cities in Iraq such as Mosul, and is posed to soon take over Baghdad. 

     The article was very informative, and gave the reader a good idea about what ISIS is, what ISIS' goals are, who is the leader of ISIS, its relationships with other terrorist groups and other important information such as how ISIS was able to survive as a group to this day. It says, "Al Baghdadi avoided al-Zarqawi's mistakes by avoiding the alienation of powerful tribal figures. When it[ISIS] captured Falluja, west of Baghdad, in January, it worked with local tribal leaders rather than raise its black flag over the city". The author also gave some statistics to support his information. For example, he used important dates in ISIS history: "Abu Bakr al Baghdadi graduated to the top job in 2010 -- at the age of 39...". The author has no significant view of the situation. He has only compiled information and condensed it into an article. Because of this, the article has no bias. However, there is also lot of missing information in the article. For instance, the author writes, "The group[ISIS] exploited a growing perception among many Sunnis that they were being persecuted by the Shia-dominated government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, starved of resources and excluded from a share of power", but he does not go into further detail of whether or not the Shia-dominated government did actually persecute Sunnis. 
       In my opinion, ISIS needs to be destroyed as soon as possible because it is a terrorist group. I think that the US should fully intervene in Iraq and based on the information given in the article, al-Baghdadi needs to be assassinated. With the mastermind of the group out of the equation, dealing with ISIS should be easier. This article really piqued my interest about ISIS and I would like to learn more.


Lister, Tim. "ISIS: The First Terror Group to Build an Islamic State?"CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 04 Sept. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/world/meast/who-is-the-isis/>.