ISIS threat to western world persists

This week, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) released a video depicting the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya. The video is the latest demonstration of the level of communication ISIS has within its satellite groups.

Before I begin, I want to say that I am a Coptic Christian myself. Like most Copts, I bear a cross tattoo on my right wrist. The practice was borne from identifying oneself in a country that is predominantly Muslim. For centuries, the Coptic faith has been persecuted and marginalized by extremist groups, but the most recent killing endures a brunt of the suffering because of the scope of its geopolitical ramifications and role in the continuing narrative of ISIS’s actions.

This is not the first time ISIS has posted videos of beheadings. The group is believed to have beheaded around 259 people total, most recently the 21 Egyptian Christians. That’s 259 known cases, but there are unquestionably countless others who have lost their lives at the hands of ISIS.

Last August, I wrote in a column that hostage negotiations should not be an option with terrorists. After the beheading of American journalist James Foley, the international community condemned the organization, and many, including myself, believed that negotiating with ISIS was problematic and would set a dangerous precedent. Today, that argument still stands, but with the heinous crime committed on the shores of Libya, our attitude must change. It’s become clear that ISIS is a cancer. It is metastasizing across the Middle East, Southwest Asia and North Africa. With such a insidious enemy that employs such volatile and lethal methods, the time has come to dispose of such a tragedy in our global history.

The 21 who lay dead and whose blood is on the hands of there barbaric extremists is the last straw: the writing is on the wall for ISIS. After the release of the video, Egypt’s air force went on the offensive and targeted ISIS training camps and weapons stocks in Libya.

It is time that discourse about the aggression of ISIS be more refined and honest. Despite being highly organized, financially equipped and technologically savvy, ISIS’s actions are deplorable and barbaric. The organization shouldn’t even be called the Islamic State; no religion condones the killing of innocent people on such a massive scale. It is disheartening to think that it has become the norm to hear of weekly beheadings and massacres in the news. The blatant and unabashedly explicit videos ISIS creates cannot go without adamant condemnation. As Jon Stewart said, “You know an organization has passed the tipping point of absolute barbarism when even al-Qaeda looks at you and thinks it’s immoral.” The beheadings are not only appalling and atrocious, but they also make the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram seem like yesterday’s news.

The United States and the rest of the global community have severely underestimated the unmitigated gall of these unrelenting radicals. Earlier this month, they went so far as to release yet another video, this time showing the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. What does a country like Japan, which has largely remained tepid in international relations since the end of World War II, have to do with ISIS? When it comes to a faction as malicious as ISIS, there are no moral bounds — there is an infinite capacity for hate, and there is an unquenching thirst to be part of the social narrative.

ISIS is more than a terrorist organization. It is a conflict with the conscience of the world. It has surpassed the level of moral hazard we have seen and poses one of the biggest risks to global security since World War II if we allow its barbaric actions to continue. The videos must stop. The beheadings must cease. When does the rhetoric from the West stop and action begin? The 21 Copts whose lives were taken offer an ominous tone and present a harbinger of what ISIS is capable of. Their massacre demonstrates the necessity of action from all countries, not just the U.S. or Egypt. The onus is on the global community to defeat ISIS and end these killings. If the cold-blooded murder of hundreds of people is not a requisite for the complete dismantling of the Islamic State, then there is something fundamentally and profoundly wrong with our societal makeup.

Air strikes should continue against training camps and hot spots of ISIS in both its traditional base in Iraq and Syria, as well as its satellite bases in Libya. Furthermore, rather than continue to witness bloodshed, the U.S., European Union and Arab countries such as Egypt and Libya need to form a strong coalition to defeat ISIS. In a region that far too often sees a cycle of stratification in terms of ideology and subsequent policy, this is an opportunity to unite against a common enemy. Disparate countries such as Syria and Japan have both suffered losses, and if cooperation is formed from defeating the Islamic State, it may prove to be the foundation for changing other diplomatic negotiations and dynamics.

For the 21 Copts beheaded and for all those decapitated and murdered by senseless acts of violence and brutality, the end of ISIS must come now.

Athanasius Georgy is a sophomore majoring in economics. His column, “On the World Stage,” runs Thursdays.