Institute of Politics

ISIS, ISIL, the Islamic State: whichever name you know it by, there is no mistaken identity in the former Al-Qaeda affiliate that has swept into our news stream with a speed and dominance not unlike its aggression on the grounds in Iraq and Syria. It has committed acts of violence along the way, stirring fear but also attracting fighters from around the globe. What is this group? Who are the fighters? How did they grow from relatively unknown to arguably the face of evil in what seems like a few months time? Is the threat it poses only regional, or are we also in danger? And how should the United States respond? To discuss these questions and more, we are joined by a panel of experts, including IOP fall fellow Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), the first Iraqi war veteran to get elected to Congress and Dr. Nabeel Khoury, senior fellow of Middle East and national security at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and visiting scholar at the Middle East North Africa program at Northwestern University. This event is presented in partnership with the International Policy Program.