With The Threat of ISIS Growing Every Day, Why Are We Not More Concerned?

    Just recently, the extremist group known as ISIS, released a video of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians to the public. These public executions are not new to the extremist group, as displayed before with the capture of the Jordanian pilot and the recent death of an American captive, supposedly by airstrike. It's not uncommon for hundreds to go missing by the hands of ISIS, and though it is covered in western media, it seems as if we are not as concerned as we should be.
    A big reason for the capture of many, mainly Christians, is because the Islamic extremists view western religious beliefs as a direct opposition to theirs. This ongoing jihad has caused many to go under captivity by ISIS. Not only this, but many held captive are also held for ransom. So the captives, who mainly belong to other foreign countries, will be released under a large amount of money given to the group by the foreign country, Though the United States has stated that exchanges with terrorist groups by foreign countries should be resisted at all costs, there is no denying that some exchanges have been made under the table in order to save the lives of captives. This is a big reason how ISIS has been able to expand to tens of thousands of members, and being able to split Libya's government in half, with one faction being controlled by ISIS. With ISIS planning to gain control of more countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and many others, our lack of concern becomes questionable. Countries such as Egypt, the United States, and Jordan have been pushing back the ISIS strongholds through the use of military force and military assistance, However, we cannot ignore the major goals of ISIS.
     A reason for the lack of concern could be the very way contemporary media is presenting the information. It seems as if the articles on ISIS blow up whenever a public execution video gets release, but ISIS is more than a group who executes by the hundreds. They are trying to instill fear into their viewers and use propaganda to get more foreign militants on their side. "At least three militant groups in Libya have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, announcing “provinces” of the caliphate in the south, east and around the capital, Tripoli, in the west." It's important to bring up the alarming amount of foreign fighters joining ISIS. ISIS knows how to present themselves in media such as Twitter and YouTube in order to encourage others to join in their cause. This is an example of how the media shown by ISIS varies when juxtaposed with the media presented about ISIS from western media. In videos released by ISIS, they will commonly dispute claims made towards the group from western media and then proceed to reveal "the truth." By convincing others that western media is trying to present ISIS in a negative light, rather than being a righteous group who's purpose is justified, they are able to gain the stunning amount of foreign recruits they handle. It seems as if western media is trying to distance the U.S. from ISIS. "We must be cautious, as the Americans say, of putting boots on the ground.” With common reference to drones and military aid, it will be a while before western media consumers see this as a global issue rather than just a middle eastern issue.


Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after beheading video. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/egypt-bombs-islamic-state-targets-in-libya-after-brutal-beheading-video/2015/02/16/3b32c50c-b5b6-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html