ISIS’ murderous rampage in Paris shocked the Western world, but the targeting and taking of human life is not a new page in the ISIS playbook. ISIS has caged human beings and burned them alive, resurrected the brutal practice of crucifixion, lined people up for mass shooting and beheadings, and sells children as sex slaves.
Members of ISIS have no regard for human life. So when the group promised bloodshed on the streets of Washington, D.C. while celebrating the slaughter in France, it’s a threat we must take very seriously.
Despite ISIS’ clear threat on the capital of the free world, the resident of Washington’s most iconic home lacks the strategy and the will to confront and defeat ISIS. The most important job of our commander-in-chief is to protect our citizens. Yet, the president fails to act while ISIS gains strength, furthering the possibility of an attack on our soil.
America must go on the offensive against ISIS for the sake of all civilized nations. Our country has a proud history of defending freedom around the world. Imagine if America had failed to defeat the malignant Axis powers. Imagine if the United States had been silent as the dark shadow of the Soviet Union fell across Europe.
By stepping up to the challenges of the day, America has inspired the fight for liberty across the globe. Yet now, freedom is under attack like never before and we are relying on hope as a containment policy for perhaps the greatest evil of our time.
Our nation can take several immediate steps to contain and eliminate ISIS. First, we need to increase our airstrikes. Working with our allies, we must use our intelligence to identify and neutralize the strongholds that allow ISIS to operate unopposed in portions of Iraq and Syria.
Second, we need troops on the ground. Having served in Iraq, I know the enormous sacrifice this asks of our men and women in uniform, as well as their families. But I also know from my experience that members of our Armed Forces volunteered to defend the cause of freedom — which stands opposed to everything ISIS represents.
Finally, we need a commander-in-chief willing to honestly tell the American people what a commitment to eradicate ISIS means. The president must be clear that there will be a cost for confronting ISIS. But he must also understand and articulate the reality that the cost of inaction would be far greater.
Only a clear declaration from the United States, backed by our military might, will effectively communicate our commitment to eliminating every member of ISIS from the face of this planet.
I pray President Barack Obama will look past his tumultuous history with the Republican Congress and join us in developing a clear and comprehensive strategy that will empower America and our allies to eradicate ISIS.
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins represents Georgia’s 9th District. Contact him at 1504 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-225-9893; 210 Washington St. NW, Suite 202, Gainesville 30501, 770-297-3388; dougcollins.house.gov.