Defeating ISIS

on Sunday night, President Obama addressed the nation r guarding the attack carried out in San Bernardino, California. In his speech, he outlined his understanding of radical terrorist organizations like ISIS, and how he believes we should react to such groups. By arguing that groups like ISIS are inherently weak and that their attacks aren't anything we as Americans don't do to ourselves on a regular basis, he drew a sharp contrast with the GOP candidates vying for his job, who suggest that ISIS is growing more powerful and that they are an existential threat to our republic.

Peter Beinart at The Atlantic wrote an interesting article contrSting these two viewpoints. Read that article, then respond to the questions below. Please keep in mind the guidelines for courteous discussion as you compose your responses.

Questions to consider:


a. Do you agree or disagree with the president's view of ISIS as described by Beinart?


b. What should be our plan for dealing with ISIS or other extremist groups? Use arguments from the article to support your answer.