February 2nd, 2016: The ’17s met today for a discussion on ISIS and US intervention in Syria. We all agreed that ISIS was not currently an existential threat to the United States and thus any war against them would be a war of choice from the US perspective. However, after a long discussion on revolutions (see article #2) and ideas of how to take on ISIS, we came to the consensus that containment of ISIS would be the best strategy. We believe that it would be better to let ISIS fall on its own, since that will help change the culture in the Middle East so that radical Islam is diminished. The group also concluded that the world needs to stop the flow of Muslims from outside of the Middle East to ISIS by partnering with Imams, who can keep Muslims from becoming radicalized. Overall, it was an incredibly fun and invigorating discussion! Read the articles for yourself and see what you think.

Article #1: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria/2016-01-04/how-defeat-isis

Article #2: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/isis-revolutionary-state