In 2015, the Department of Defense allocated 7.5 billion dollars to the fight against the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to an article from the Wall Street Journal.[1] This is a 50% increase from the previous year, and amidst the terror group's flashy youtube videos of beheadings and rapid sieze of territory, defense offcials have essentially shifted their national security focus to defeating ISIS.[2]

Where did ISIS come from? In September 2001, when the World Trade center was hit by two commercial airliners, the terror group that was the topic of all conversation was Al-Qaeda, not ISIS. After a decade long war and almost 15 years later, we now have a new problem on our hands which is Al-Qaeda's even more brutal counterpat known as ISIS. While the group's aimless and vicious brutalitly is attention grabbing in headlines around the world, Al-Qaeda has sustained and adapted to years of fighting and continues to rebuild.

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The question facing many government officials now is where to direct the manpower and funding, and while most have pointed to ISIS, Al-Qaeda should not be ignored. Globally, ISIS presents a deadly threat to security, but in the United States particularly, Al-Qaeda's threat is more direct. Establishing a strategy to alleiviate the threat of Al-Qaeda should be the number one priority of United States defense policy because their structure and strategy are more sustainable than ISIS, and most importantly because the United States remains their number one target since 1995.[3]