Journal 1

Source 1: CNN article: ISIS over view http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/08/world/isis-fast-facts/

 October 6

This article from CNN is essentially an over view of information pertaining to the ISIS. This website contains a timeline of the ISIS, showing when the ISIS started, when the leaders change, and providing a visual of how many square miles the ISIS has taken control off.  (I'd like to see you be more specific with your summary paragraph.  For instance, instead of telling me that the article shows when ISIS started or when leaders have changed, provide me specifically with that information.  How many sauce miles has ISIS taken control of?  How many leaders has the organization had?  How often does leadership changed?  This will be useful to you, as well, when you get to writing your paper.  Instead of having to go back and reread the article, you can simply gather the necessary info from your blogs.)  This website also includes pictures of events in Iraq from the government soldiers trying to stop the ISIS. This timeline begins with the establishment of Al Qaeda in 2004 and tells of events up until present day when the US launched an airstrike against the ISIS in hopes to protect the US Embassy, the airport, and the Iraqi people who have been forced from their homes.

This article was the first step in providing me with the basic information about the ISIS, including when they started, who their leader is, and what their overall plan is.   I choose to use this article first because I needed to get a broad idea of what the ISIS is currently doing over in Iraq and Syria in order for me to understand why US troops were sent to this area. This article is very black and white, meaning that there is no viewpoint given pertaining to my question of should American troops be fighting the ISIS or should we mind our own business and leave them alone. After reading, I have a general understanding of what the ISIS is doing to the people in Northern and Western Iraq and parts of Syria, forcing them to flee from their homes in attempts to control the Muslim population in the Middle East and convert those religious groups that are not Muslim. I can now see why the US military is getting involved with the ISIS in attempts to stop them from creating a massive genocide, but I am not convinced that it is our job to stop this group considering they are no where near American territory. People may support military involvement because they feel that these innocent people should have some protection. They could also view this issue as relevant because if the ISIS gains too much power they could potentially launch another terrorist attack against the United States, causing mass chaos globally.

After reading this article, I can see why Obama has made the decision to send more troops into this area. I would like to find out what other powerhouse countries are doing to help this issue of the ISIS taking over large amounts of territory. If no other countries are helping, then why should America have to risk our own soldiers’ lives in order to protect Middle Eastern people. I would also like to investigate reasons for the ISIS to begin this potential genocide along with how far do they plan on forcing those from their homes. With several thousand already dead, is there any chance that the US military can provide shelter to those in need without getting any of our men killed in the process since already the ISIS has released video footage of them beheading 2 Americans that were held captive. I can answer these questions by researching more into the ISIS and learning about their overall plan. Once I have a better understanding of what the ISIS plans to do within the next few years I can decide whether I think the US military should be involved in trying to stop the ISIS or not. I am reconsidering my initial response to the US military involvement because I now think that if the ISIS gains too much power, they will try to launch a terrorist attack in attempts to destroy the American government so that the ISIS will never be stopped. I still am not totally convinced that the US military should be in this warzone currently, especially if there is not other support from other countries. I plan to use the databases to find out more information, along with finding articles online that pertain to the ISIS and their mission.

One other note: be sure to deal more with argumentative articles.  These informational articles are necessary, obviously.  You'll need them for a proper exploration.  But they don't allow you to do much critical thinking about the issue, which is what this paper is about more than anything else.  Especially in these journals, I'd rather you deal with sources that encourage critical thinking, although you're more than welcome (in fact, encouraged) to use informational resources when you get to the paper itself.