By Melissa Skinner

Before hurrying back to the golf course, President Obama has managed to address the country this week about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) however, instead of referring to the terrorist organization as ISIS, he has referred to them as ISIL, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, numerous times during his speech on Thursday.

According to the Fiscal Times, both ISIS and ISIL describe the same murderous organization, but ISIL encompasses an area far greater than Iraq and Syria. In total, ISIL occupies the island of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and a part of southern Turkey.

The question is then asked why would the President rather refer to the terrorist organization as ISIL instead of ISIS. According to the Fiscal Times, “An army of that territorial magnitude takes the focus off of the two countries (Iraq and Syria) that many believe define Obama’s continued failure in the Middle East.” In other words, he is trying to eliminate the connection between the chaos in Iraq with the U.S. inaction in Syria.

The beheading of American journalist James Foley is not the first time we have heard about ISIS. One month ago, it was released that they were committing a Christian Holocaust in Iraq slaughtering thousands and beheading children. When the story finally leaked nationally, Obama was quick to act initiating air strikes on the terrorist organization. Another question to be asked is why it took so long for the U.S. to respond to the needs of the believers in Iraq? When it is an American, people seem to care much more and that should not be the case. Every human life is important and nationality should not be a factor.

According to Fox News, “ Top U.S. military brass and former administration officials are publicly pressuring the White House to consider taking the fight against ISIS into Syria”, which again explains Obama’s consistent use of the term ISIL.

“ISIL is as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen. They are beyond just a terrorist group,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Thursday. He added at the end of his speech that the U.S. needs to “Get ready.”

The U.S should have been preparing for the threat of ISIS during the Syrian conflict. President Obama’s continuous inaction should not continue to go unnoticed. Our eyes have only witnessed the horrific execution of Foley. Although it is extremely riveting photograph, he is not the only person ISIS has murdered. Imagine seeing a photograph of every person they have slaughtered. The media would not have the time in a day to tell every story.

As a country, we have become relaxed and content to let the nonsense continue in our government. If our founding fathers were alive today, would they be playing golf or would they be taking serious action to make sure lives were spared? We all know the answer to that question but what are we going to do to change the corruption and make a difference?

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Melissa is a recent graduate of Liberty University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in journalism. When she was a student, she was actively involved with writing for the marketing department at Liberty, the student run newspaper the Liberty Champion as well as freelancing for Lynchburg Business. Melissa will be interning with the National Journalism Center in Washington, DC this fall, after interning with the Stacy on the Right Show Radio Program.