The Long, Thorny Path to Calling ISIS “Genocidal”

The Islamic State came to world attention for extremism and brutality in late 2013, and it took more than two years and designations by the European Parliament, the United States National Holocaust Museum and US House of Representatives for the US State Department to declare the terrorist group is responsible for genocide in the cities and territory it controls. The Islamic State is not a state, and that poses legal complications. “Linking ‘genocide’ with ISIS provides a broader rationale to step up the fight against the terrorist group, which a number of lawmakers and politicians have lobbied for,” explains Adam Chandler for the Atlantic. The Obama administration has steadily targeted ISIS, but resisted alarm and panic that might increase the group’s global profile. Chandler concludes, “Thursday’s announcement by Kerry indicates that the president’s feelings about ISIS notwithstanding, the terrorist group will remain at the center of U.S. counterterrorism strategy for at least the immediate future.” –