By: Kathleen, intern at Niagara and student at Northwestern University
We are excited to host Dr. Wendy Pearlman, Assistant Professor and Crown Junior Chair in Middle East Studies at Northwestern University, as a panelist at Niagara Foundation’s annual “The State of the Middle East Forum”.
Here, Dr. Pearlman will discuss her thoughts on ISIS and the US response to the conflict, expanding upon the notion that ISIS is a symptom of a greater problem; not the root cause. With this idea in mind, she mentions that some action is better than no action—that this is a time to present new strategies as a welcome shift from what was previously a hands-off policy of inaction in regards to the ISIS movement.
However, it is also important to remember that though our political solution has been to combat ISIS, we must also take a look at deeper causes so we can address the issue at its roots. Dr. Pearlman mentions how ISIS has been a problem discussed by Syrians for several years—a problem that was not given enough attention until the beheading of two American journalists plunged the issue into the global spotlight.
Now that ISIS has become an international focus, all parts of the problem must be explored and all voices must be heard. Dr. Pearlman will shed some light on these otherwise unheard voices, share her own opinions, and learn what other panelists have to say about the conflict on October 28th— Join Us!