On 8 Feb., the UAE government announced that UAE F-16s returned to Jordan to fight Daesh, also known as the Islamic State, via official news agency WAM. According to a story first published in the New York Times on 3 Feb., the UAE ceased operations in the conflict after a Jordanian pilot was captured by Daesh forces last December. The UAE initially joined the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria in September of 2014.

Among NYU Abu Dhabi students, reaction to the news has varied. Freshman Tyler Headley supports the return to the USA-led coalition.

“The UAE has done a great job leading the Middle East with airstrikes,” said Headley. “They are already doing a lot with their airstrikes. They’ve been doing just as much as anyone has.”

However, a sophomore from the Levant, who spoke to The Gazelle under the condition of anonymity, expressed concern over whether the USA could do more in the fight against Daesh.

“I think the US could be doing more, but I don’t know if I want them to be doing more,” stated the student. The student commented on the tension between the rise of Daesh and US presence in the region.

“We should start looking at [the beginning of Daesh] from the invasion of Iraq. [The USA] cleared out the stage for groups like that to emerge,” said the sophomore. “[But] I don’t think they created [Daesh] alone, that would be stripping the group from all agency.”

Headley had his doubts about further US involvement in combating Daesh.

“I think the US is doing all that they should do and all that they have an obligation to,” he said.

Junior Ameed Abutteen is concerned about USA involvement for other reasons.

“The US has lost so much credibility in the Arab world, mainly because of its actions in Iraq over ten years and its previous actions in other [neighboring] countries and its continued support of Israel,” said Abutteen. “The fact that the US is leading a coalition against ISIS is not something that many people seem to trust or believe in.”

Both Abutteen and Headley stated that rooting out the causes of Islamic extremism was the primary way to prevent future growth of Daesh.

Abutteen warned others of focusing too much on Daesh. He wants to ensure people do not forget other injustices happening around the world through different forms of violence.

“People need to deal with human victims as human losses, not as human losses who are lost in a specific manner. Killing people with underdeveloped weapons should not be looked at as more horrific than killing people with more developed weapons,” said Abutteen. “This is really the key point that I think it is very important for people to realize.”