Link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/22/politics/obama-isis-killers-social-media/
At a press conference in Malaysia this weekend, President Obama labeled ISIS as "Killers with good social media." The quote was made in response to the terror group's social media presence and reports made that suggest the terror attacks in Paris were foretold of on social media. The President decided to strengthen his rhetoric in regards to the terror group following criticism he had received earlier from his response to the Paris terror attacks, having originally described the attacks to be "a setback in the war against ISIS." The president vowed to not let ISIS tactics of fear break the spirits of the American people. The President has been under extreme scrutiny for declaring that the U.S. should take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees within the next year. Congress voted to suspend immigration programs for Syrian and Iraqi immigrants until the immigrants can be cleared as harmless by national security agencies. ISIS seems unpredictable, but social media may be our best bet for preventing further strikes.
Questions: Should U.S. Security agencies focus on monitoring ISIS on social media, tracking their possible IP Addresses and looking for any potential threats? Should the U.S. value the safety of the Syrian refugees and accept them into the country, or require maximum security to ensure that each individual immigrant is not a threat? Should the U.S. continue air strikes throughout ISIS regions, or mobilize soldiers to strike from land?
I believe that the United States should be using its resources to track and nullify threats and communications over social media. With the refugees, I believe that the United States should welcome them into the country. However I do believe they should be screened before we welcome them into the country. If the refugees are screened beforehand we can reduce the threat that a massive influx of refugees might pose. I do not believe the U.S. will extend military operations in Syria. Many Americans still want to stay out of war in the Middle East and I believe air strikes will be the extent of our military operations under Obama.
ReplyDeleteThe US already does track ISIS members using social media and the GPS locations on their phones. That's basically how they killed Jihadi John, by tracking his address. I think the current way of accepting refugees is acceptable, they are already vetted by various government agencies. However, I think we should admit more refugees, certainly more than the several hundred we are currently accepting. I think that well organized, precise airstrikes are still the best way to go. No one wants another war in the Middle East, and no one wants to do nothing, and airstrikes have been shown to be somewhat effective.
ReplyDeleteISIS is a dangerous organization and many precautions must be done. I think that it is important to evaluate the immigrants because bombings can happen in the United States like it has in Paris. Even though it is difficult to monitor 10,000 people, I think that it is essential to take precautions especially in times of war. I also believe that monitoring on social media is also important to keep track of activities of ISIS. By monitoring ISIS behavior online, we might be able to save more lives. I don't think that mobilizing soldiers on land is the best option. Once soldiers are on land, more people will die and innocent citizens will be affected even more than now. ISIS is a large problem and different tactics must be used to fight the terrorist organization.
ReplyDeleteSince ISIS did leave some signs on social media about threats, it would be wise for the US to track and note what ISIS posts. The US should accept Strian refugees but should take safety precautions, such as background checks. I think air strikes would be more effective in protecting the US and saving more people. Air strikes are effective and have proven to work in the past. The less men on land, the better.
ReplyDeleteIn the age of internet and technological dominance, tracking ISIS on the internet can be a very effective way to weaken them. Through the use of tracking IP addresses and posts online, I think that the United States can track down members of ISIS and slowly be able to take them down. It may not happen overnight, but ISIS isn't as large or powerful as past terror groups, so this initiative could definitely help weaken them.
ReplyDeleteIt would be funny if we pinpointed ISIS through social media. In this world of new technology, basically anything is possible if you posses enough skill. It sounds morbid, but I really don't think we need excessive security on refugees until we have some reason to run security, like an attack by refugees, which probably won't happen. I think we should get our best intelligence possible on ISIS before deploying any troops on the ground.
ReplyDeleteIt would be funny if we pinpointed ISIS through social media. In this world of new technology, basically anything is possible if you posses enough skill. It sounds morbid, but I really don't think we need excessive security on refugees until we have some reason to run security, like an attack by refugees, which probably won't happen. I think we should get our best intelligence possible on ISIS before deploying any troops on the ground.
ReplyDeleteActually, that is what ISIS wants the world to do. ISIS seems to be weak in my opinion, and wants to take credit for attacks to create the illusion that they are stronger. I agree with the whole gathering intelligence though, that is a good option as of right now.
DeleteIf it helps prevent massacres such as what took place in Paris, I believe that the U.S. should look at ISIS's social media presence to hopefully prevent any further attacks. I also feel that we as a country shouldn't let ISIS strike fear into us so easily and should reopen the gates for Syrian refugees as well as look towards other prevention methods to make sure this doesn't happen again. As for how we should counterattack, I think we should follow whichever tactic will minimize casualties on both sides.
ReplyDeleteAlthough socially monitoring ISIS is a good idea, it will not relieve the physical threat that they pose to Americans and other people living in the middle east. By monitoring their social media, we take away their one true outlet into the world, and limit the amount of chaos and fear the can cause abroad. However, ISIS will still physically be in the middle east causing chaos, which is another aspect of the problem which we need to focus on.
ReplyDeleteMonitoring ISIS socially is good because it will help American to prevent the next terrorist attack. I feel it also will be safe to have maximum security to make sure everyone come into the American is not a threat because we do not want what happened in Paris happen in America. American should keep air strike the region instead of sending soldiers because it is a chaos in the middle east and America will not want to be involved in it.
ReplyDeleteIt's most definitely a good idea for the US government to monitor ISIS as much as possible online. That being said, they will probably only post when they know there's an extremely low possibility of them being traced. The US should let Syrian Refugees in as long as they have been checked carefully prior to entry. They most definitely should not send soldiers or do airstrikes as this can and has resulted in many deaths of innocent civilians. Targeting countries will not solve the issue of taking ISIS down.
ReplyDeleteIt's most definitely a good idea for the US government to monitor ISIS as much as possible online. That being said, they will probably only post when they know there's an extremely low possibility of them being traced. The US should let Syrian Refugees in as long as they have been checked carefully prior to entry. They most definitely should not send soldiers or do airstrikes as this can and has resulted in many deaths of innocent civilians. Targeting countries will not solve the issue of taking ISIS down.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the US should try it's best to monitor ISIS on social media sites if they pose as a potential threat to America. However with that being said, The government should do what is in the best interest of America by taking down any potential threats posed against Americans.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the US already monitors ISIS electronically and on social media in more ways than we can even come up with- they do it to thousands of muslim citizens and activists in this country, I personally know several. As for the refugees, they should be let in. The Paris attack brought a lot of anti-refugee sentiment. As I stated on another post however, the perpetrators of the Paris attacks were citizens of the EU. They could have entered the country freely at anytime they pleased. The chances of the Syrian refugees being ISIS members are extremely low. Beyond that we would only be accepting a select few after extensive background checks anyway, the refugee process is not short. These are people that we must take that tiny chance to save their lives.
ReplyDeleteISIS campaign on social media and on the news has been very dangerous because of its successful! I would like to highlight about what Obama said about ISIS' strategy on social media. He states, "ISIS (uses) tactics of fear break the spirits of the American people". Obama hits the nail on how ISIS puts fuel to the fire in order to evoke Americans to continue to fear. ISIS knows that Americans especially are always subject to fear and like to blame others for their "worries/problems". The strategy that ISIS uses on social media is to promote their barbaric and uncivilized actions to coincide with the practices of Islam. As a result, Americans assume that all people of Islam, and or of Middle Eastern dissent, are involved with a terrorist mindset. This growing fear that ISIS wants Americans and Western culture to believe will result in ISIS' plan to divide the world to two spheres, Islam as one and western culture as the other. ISIS goal is to become very powerful off of Americans being ignorant and scared. In reality, ISIS is not very strong due to being limited in supplies and being attacked by every other country and rebel group. We must educate Western Culture to understand the difference between Islam and terrorism. As more people understand this concept, the hype of ISIS will diminish and it will be easier to stop them!
ReplyDeleteThe US has already set up motions to emphasis their cyber campaign. However, this definitively should not be the US' only means of action combatting ISIS. US' should still be aiding the relocation of refugees. The current circumstances place thousands of refugees in a dangerous predicament if refuge is not secured. Of course, US must enforce a strict vetting process (as they already have) to ensure that acceptance of refugees will not damage the safety of other citizens of the US.
ReplyDeleteThrough the NSA, the US already monitors many of our conversations searching for connections to terrorism. Because of this, I have no doubts that the government is already searching social media for information on ISIS. I also believe that we should continue doing so to gather as much information on ISIS as we can before we result to sending troops. Economically, another way is not in our best interests as a country right now. The chances that these refugees are connected to ISIS is highly unlikely as well considering the extensive amounts of background checks one must go through to be admitted.
ReplyDeleteInstead of air striking ISIS regions, the US should aim to contain and degrade ISIS and enable regional partners to continue to build the tools needed to defeat ISIS’s movement with international support. Any successful U.S. strategy must be built on a foundation of regional cooperation that requires coordinated action from U.S. partners.The strategy should be multifaceted, involving intelligence cooperation, security support, strategic communications, and political engagement.
ReplyDeleteThe US can and should monitor ISIS on social media in order to predict their future attacks, thus giving us the chance to protect people at risk and to strike down on ISIS. Of course, tracking ISIS on social media is not the only safety measure the US should take in order to combat ISIS. Also, the US should welcome Syrian refugees, but also be cautious not to put the lives of both the US citizens' and Syrian refugees' lives.
ReplyDeleteI believe the government should be using any resources and medium they can get their hands on to help monitor and prevent future threats and attacks. As for the refugee situation, I do believe the US should be letting them in. However, there should be an increase in security as a precaution to make sure anyone that is coming into the US is not threat.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that U.S security agencies should try to monitor and track ISIS and terrorist groups through social media. They should be doing everything they can in order to find and eliminate the terrorist threats. This would jet be another method of tracking them. If the enemy is using social media platforms to further their agendas, the U.S should also use this to their advantage and try to track them. I also believe that America should value the safety of refugees and take in the 10,000 refugees. These refugees are family and survivors who have just lost their homes to the same people we are trying to eliminate. It seems that today, some republican candidates are against allowing the refugees to enter the country incase of of them is actually a terrorist. But republicans are also the ones saying that we shouldn't limit the right to own guns because of things an individual has done? It is the exact same principle. Furthermore, I believe that the U.S should continue with the airstrikes. We have only just gotten out of a war in the Middle East, it is far too early to deploy more soldiers and lose more lives to this battle.
ReplyDeleteThe internet is a vast and complicated place. While being able to monitor the accounts that known ISIS recruiters are using, there are more and more ways to get encrypted messages to people around the world. Of course the United States should accept the refugees. If we said no, the whole world would look down on the United States. As of right now, I think that so far we have a good plan going and that other nations, if they want can upgrade the strikes. The U.K. now is bombing ISIS oil field which is a known as the way they make their money, but my question is why have we not already targeted them. There is no right answer for how to deal with this group. It is a question now which costs the least and would be the most affected.
ReplyDeleteI think that the US should monitor ISIS through the internet, however they shouldn't completely rely on this to obtain intell. The US should accept the refugees however there should be some form of a seccurity screening prior to. The US should gage the specific situation and then decide if troops on land or airstrikes are more effective.
ReplyDeleteThe US already does monitor the internet but with many people and many outlets, it's hard to find the real source. After the shooting in San Bernardino, they found that one of the shooters posted on Facebook supporting ISIS. It's really hard to monitor everything, but we should be doing more in releasing info to the public about what's going on. In regards to the refugees, we should be letting more in- but there has to be throughout background checks like many said above. There is really no right answer to solving this issue- either we sit back and watch or go to war. I think we should work with the United Nations, and continue with airstrikes and such.
ReplyDeleteThe United States government should continue to monitor known ISIS members on social media as a part of a overall strategy to gather intel on this terrorist organization. However, I believe groups like Anonymous can be more effective because they have power to be unethical in an unethical fight. In my mind, a joint coalition including European countries, the U.S and the Middle East should be used to destroy ISIS. It shouldn't be the U.S's responsibility every time and it's time we hold the world accountable.
ReplyDeleteBecause ISIS has become a top priority for the United States for some time now, I believe that the US has been tracking each and everyone of their moves in attempt to find their location. The US has already taken many measures to ensure the safety of its citizens, however, I think it would be cruel of us to refuse Syrian refugees. On a similar note, I believe that the US should find a new way of attacking ISIS because air strike jeopardizes innocent people and mobilizing soldiers jeopardizes our soldiers. A solution could be by collaborating with the United Nations to figure out a way in which we can unite with other nations to take down ISIS.
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