Trump administration's plan to aggressively strike ISIS could undercut strategy to ramp down interventions, researcher says

LAWRENCE —As Donald Trump's administration is expected to devise plans to more aggressively strike the Islamic State, or ISIS, it would require not abiding by its pledge to refrain from foreign interventions, said a University of Kansas researcher who studies ISIS and extremist groups.

Don Haider-Markel, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, can discuss issues surrounding efforts to combat ISIS. His research includes terrorism, extremist groups, public policy and American politics.

"The Trump administration can call it whatever it likes, but to increase the involvement of the U.S. military against ISIS in Syria and Iraq would require sending more troops, especially if it wants to create so-called safe zones in Syria," Haider-Markel said. "We could do more to arm the Kurds and others in Syria, but any dramatic difference in the American approach would require sending more personnel and weapons — such as artillery. In short, this requires putting more Americans in the line of fire."

He said other policies, such as more heavily restricting immigration, would not significantly degrade ISIS.

"The threat to the homeland from ISIS has been and will remain self-radicalized individuals that can legally be in the United States," Haider-Markel said.