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Adelphi students express their opinion about the challenges facing the global community.

Political Science Majors were asked: “What are the challenges facing the global community as it seeks to combat threats posed by ISIS?”

The following responses were obtained by Political Science Major Hugo Salazar.

Pietro Pisciotta, Junior: “The biggest challenges would be not just beating them back militarily but doing so with an end game in mind so as to not create a power vacuum that will lead to another extremist group in the region. The problem with the West’s foreign policy in the region for the past few decades has been going in guns blazing without a plan for the future.”

Liz Rilling, Senior: “I think the biggest challenge faced by the global community is letting go of certain identities as synonyms for terrorism. Part of what has people and the media erupting over ISIS is their shock that westerners- British, Americans, etc.- are involved in the group, as if this somehow makes their acts even more repulsive. Terrorism is terrorism, and if we ever intend to overcome this threat we need to start accepting as a society that you won’t always be able to identify the enemy from the outside. If we don’t, we will grow distrustful of our fellow citizens and begin to project racism upon outsiders phenomena  that will ultimately tear us all apart.”

Mike Sonta, Freshman: “In terms of this mounting ISIS issue that has virtually come to beleaguer not only our government, but a multitude of our allies’, I feel that it is absolutely paramount that we as a global community must remain perpetually cognizant of the perils and consequences of another long term commitment in the Middle East, and ultimately, we must reject the naiveté suggesting that another “boots on the ground campaign” will serve as anything other than an agent to destabilize an already precarious region. Additionally, we must remain vigilant to ensure that the alliances that we do form to degrade the militant organization must be trustworthy, as well as steadfast to the purpose at hand. This process of training Syrian rebels must be undertaken with appreciable care and caution as we do not wish to augment this already dynamic conflict.”

George Giakoumis, Junior: “I think the biggest challenge in dealing with ISIS is the inability to focus any sort of combative effort on a single area or region. Because you’re dealing with a group which has roots in many different areas, each of which has its own sovereign power, it’s exceedingly difficult to act with any semblance of force.”

Jazmine Javier, Junior: “I think one of the biggest challenges is assessing sovereignty. On one hand the global community wants to combat ISIS for humanitarian reasons yet the more it super imposes sovereignty, the more it tends to backfire. Without a strong global front on the issue, it would be very difficult to enforce any type of cause for having boots on the ground or drones above it.”

Dylan Maraj, Sophomore: “One such problem are the agents of ISIS that are already within the borders of multiple states. It was found that supporters and the developers for the Web page that was for the sole use of promoting ISIS were American citizens who studied at Northeastern University. To combat ISIS, the global community must first be wary of the agents that are already within their borders.”

Varun Gandhi, Sophomore: “ISIS is a new up-and-coming threat to the global world and should be handled with speed. The main issues surrounding ISIS are that it’s a religious military organization and it has growing numbers from many different nations. America must work with the governments of these nations if we want to suppress ISIS.”

This piece appeared in the Political Science Newsletter Fall 2014 edition.

For further information, please contact:

Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications Director 
p – 516.237.8634
e – twilson@adelphi.edu

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