A mass grave of nearly forty women and children was found in IRAQ after an ISIS territory was taken back by militants in Baghdad. Last month, the U.N. said that 16 mass graves were found in one Iraqi town alone. All of them were as a result of ISIS.
"Over 50 mass graves have been found so far in different areas of Iraq formerly controlled by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, BBC reported Friday, citing a United Nations envoy."
This article accentuates the "Age of Proxy Wars" in the Middle East. While Syria and Libya are the 2 most known proxy situations, the article illuminates other states involved as well. We know already about UAE, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which this article also brings up, but new information suggests that Bahrain and Kuwait are supporting sides of the regional war as well. While these nations think they're doing their part to support their values, these proxy wars are actually fostering further extremism since people supporting each side do not directly suffer the consequences. The article states that the metastasizing of these jihadist groups is grave threat to US national security, and the US must intervene in order to solve this crisis. The author says the US needs to improve their performance in donor cordination, funding the right groups, as well as be more aggressive in working directly with elections, uncovering networks of money and influence. He says rather than the conduction of elections, we must focus on the nature of politics in general, curbing corruption and embedding sectarian democratic values in their political sphere.