Contemporary Conflict

                       For this blog entry I like to go back to my original theme of relating old issues of war to the modern-day. In the Humanities Core lecture that I that I’m attending, some interesting points have been brought up about how the Civil War will be remembered. Professor Alice Fahs, of University of California Irvine has gathered opinions on this subject, and states that “As many historians have pointed out, although the North won the war, by the turn of the century the South had in many ways won the battle for the memory of the war. Thus, history and memory radically diverged” (Fahs).

ISIS fighters in Ramadi ~ Associated Press

                       After reflecting on this topic thought, I considered what wars or conflicts, that taken place over my lifetime, have had a lasting impact, and will be remembered in the future as such. The most notable war is likely the United States invasion of Iraq, and subsequent invasion of other Middle Eastern states. Despite this conflict happening at the beginning of my adolescence, I cannot think of a more contemporary and pervasive military conflict happening than the Islamic State that has been seizing land in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East.

ISIS militants are fighting government forces in Syria~ Associated Press

                       Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has fiercely taken over towns, cities, and portions of countries. I talked about the history behind the Islamic State’s policies in my very first blog post, but their legacy is something that I briefly touched on. The Real Clear World made a rather bold statement saying that, “The Islamic State will die only when the Middle East is reborn.” They do go on to say that this will not happen in the near future, if it is to happen at all, but with the way that relations in the area have come to be it could very well happen.

                        With ISIS strongholds being contested by recent strategic attacks by local and western military, there is a chance that the caliphate may fall in the near future. ISIS faces growing challenges as they move on to Iraq’s capital, Baghdad and Iraq's Shia south or against the Kurds. They are now threatening an oil exporter, and challenging Iran, and threating to seize other states in the Gulf States. This may force rival states to work together to fight against a common enemy. “Oil is simply too important to let ISIS seize all of Iraq, although creating any kind of unified front or rapid effective resistance to this level of ISIS gains does not seem likely” (Cordsman). As ISIS moves forward, with their stagey with success, they could be a permanent fixture in the future of the Middle East and beyond.

                      

Works Cited

Cordsman, Anthony. "Viewpoint: ISIS Goals and Possible Future Gains - BBC News."

                       BBC News. BBC World News, 12 June 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2016

Fahs, Alice. "Picturing the Civil War 4: The Memory of the War – Picturing US

History." Picturing US History All. American Social History Project, 16 June 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

Miller, Aaron David. "5 Reasons the U.S. Cannot Defeat ISIS." 5 Reasons the U.S.

                       Cannot Defeat ISIS. Real Clear World, 6 June 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.