I would say before my parents trip to Iraq my understanding of the Middle East, and the fight against ISIS was very limited and very different then it is today. I didn’t even know what the words Kurdish or Peshmerga meant, other than seeing the terms, when I occasionally read about the middle eastern conflict. Like many millennials the bulk of my news information came from comedy programs and buzzfeed, which I believed were just about as reputable (or at least as equally lacking in facts) as most regular news stations, with all of the sensationalism and drama we get feed by the media these days. Now I have a subscription to The New York Times, and regularly scan the BCC, and Rudaw for articles about the Middle East. (I also still enjoy my comedy news and buzzfeed articles then again). It’s important to take everything in critically, but I have definitely broadened my scope of information.
Here are just a few links to some news articles that really helped inform me, not only about the struggles occur in Iraq but about ISIS and why it is so different than terrorist groups we have faced in the past.
This is a long one, but a very recommended read that helps to explain ISIS:
What ISIS Really Wants – The Atlantic
I believe I first found this link on Facebook, but I thought it was good for someone as geographically challenged as myself to understand a little bit more of the history and locations of some major upheavals in Iraq:
27 Maps that Explain the Crisis in Iraq – Vox
This is the article that motivated me to reach out to my parents and really get the gears moving to create this website:
The Re-foundation Project 