Isis a Brief Analysis

¶ … Friedman arguing in this piece?

Friedman discusses the Putin decision to set up an air base in Syria's center to fight against the Islamic State, bolstering President Bashar al-Assad and how it completely backfired costing the lives of hundreds of Russians. While force may be what people outside of ISIS controlled areas desire in order to defeat ISIS, using force does more harm than good. This is because the violence or threat of violence generated through these acts makes those that would otherwise be resistant to ISIS more incline to adopt ISIS mentality. For example, the war in Iraq fueled the creation of ISIS versus ceasing the terrorist activity in the country and surrounding territories.

Friedman argues that in order to be effective in curbing terrorist activity and terrorist threats, the EU, America, and Russia must work together to strengthen moderate Sunnis combat abilities and provide support to those in Muslim countries wishing for stability and resources. In the end it is more about preservation of human rights and providing support that will end the terrorist threat instead of outright warfare and violence. Violence only begets violence as discussed in chapter one of the text with inference and reasoning.

2) What reasons does he provide in support of this opinion?

He discusses the negative reactions that came from Putin's decision to aggressively intervene by mentioning the deaths of 224 people in the civilian Russian airliner that were blown up by pro-ISIS militants within Sinai. This was a direct result of Putin's decision to begin creation of an air base in Syria. He also mentions Turkey shooting down a Russian bomber when it crossed Turkish territory and how Turkish people became enraged by Putin decide to take action against him. Another example the writer provided were Syrian rebels and their killing of one of the pilots and Russian Marine sent to rescue him. All of these events would not have occurred had Putin decided against the aggressive stance of setting up an air base.

Friedman states that if the world takes a middle of the road approach that Obama tried, but unsuccessfully managed to do, perhaps there would be less casualties and more instances of unification and support versus assault and murder. There must be something done because the influx of Syrian refugees into European borders has created a restriction to the free flow of goods and people further limiting the EU's economic growth and unity. All these attacks by the terrorists are causing instability not just within Muslim nations, but also European nations.

3) Are there any fallacious arguments involved in his reasoning?