Beginning as a small branch of al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) faction became a topic of world debate as it increasingly harassed other peoples. Because of its brutal execution of multiple Westerners, ISIS has become one of the largest US military focuses in the Middle East in years.

According to U.S. military officials who helped train the Iraqi security forces after service in Iraq, governments that lack motivation to fight the faction allow ISIS to continue take over. While ISIS is a Sunni Muslim­ based group, the Iraqi government and its military officers are primarily Shi’a. However, much of the area ISIS has retained in Iraq is Sunni, so the local population is more willing to tolerate, or even support ISIS. According to the CIA, the group could have more than 30,000 fighters, 12,000 of whom are foreigners and left their homes and traveled to Syria to fight.

ISIS has been especially active in recent days, particularly against Kurdish forces in the Syrian border town Kobani. Despite airstrikes from the United States and defensive efforts by rag­tag Kurdish militias, ISIS has been making steady progress in the last few days. In defense of Kobani, Kurdish fighters applied for more ammunition and weapons, and have received verbal support from the Turkish Government. However, the Turks will not deploy ground troops under current conditions unless other nations are willing to devote troops to the cause; Turkey is wary of deploying their military solitarily in such a inclement situation, according to CNN. This dilemma has lead to further conflict in the region, as deadly riots have broken out in Turkey between Kurdish protesters and Islamist groups, aligned with ISIS.

In response, US President Barack Obama has addressed the threat by laying out a three part plan which entails a strengthened military presence in the region, increased air­strikes, and expanding intelligence on ISIS’s motives moving forward. He also suggested that America and its allies are capable of “wiping out the terror organization” (CNN), assuming they can cooperate. At the moment, Obama doesn’t plan on deploying American ground troops, but this may be subject to change in the coming months. He will address the nation on Wednesday with further plans of action.