Outline help

This assignment must contain the following elements:

Countering the ISIS/ISIL Threat

Throughout this course you have studied various terrorist groups and intelligence capability to counter the threats posed by these groups. For this project, review one of the following news websites to gain a thorough understanding of ISIS/ISIL terrorist group:

• ABC News. (2015, February 23) ISIS: Trail of terror. Retrieved from: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/fullpage/isis-trail-terror-isis-threat-us-25053190
• Al-Jazeera America. (n.d.). Iraq in turmoil. Retrieved from: http://america.aljazeera.com/topics/topic/international-location/middle-east/iraq.html
• CBS News. (n.d.). The fight against ISIS. Retrieved from: http://www.cbsnews.com/isis/
• CNN News (n.d.) ISIS. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/search/?text=ISIS
• Fox News (n.d.) ISIS. Retrieved from: http://www.foxnews.com/category/world/isis

Then, select two of the following Congressional Research Service Reports (Note Week 5 Readings). Read the Introductions and Summaries of each report.

• Archick, K., Belkin, P., Blanchard, C., Humud C., & Mix, D. (2015, April 27). European fighters in Syria and Iraq: Assessments, responses, and issues for the United States. Congressional Research Service, Washington D.C. Retrieved from: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44003.pdf
• Blanchard, C., Humud C., Katzman K., & Weed, M. (2015, June 11). The Islamic State: Crisis and U.S. policy. Congressional Research Service, Washington D.C. Retrieved from: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R43612.pdf
• Blanchard, C., Humud C., & Nikitin, M. (2015, July 2015). Armed conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. response. Congressional Research Service, Washington D.C. Retrieved from: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33487.pdf
• Humud, C., Pirog, R., & Rosen, L. (2015, April 10).Islamic State financing and U.S. policy approaches. Congressional Research Service, Washington D.C. Retrieved from: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R43980.pdf

• Thesis. Write a thesis statement for your Final Project. The thesis statement should synthesize the point or claim you intend to argue or prove in your paper. In your Final Paper, the thesis should be the final sentence of your introduction and the first sentence of your conclusion.
• Outline. The outline must include all of the required components stated in the assignment instructions.
• Annotated Bibliography of five academic references. The annotated bibliography must contain:
  • APA Citation.
  • A summary of the article to include, what the author tested, major conclusions and recommendations.
  • Summarize how each source will contribute to your Framework.

Students are reminded of Ashford University standards for academic research. Scholarly references standards include:

• Primary (original) sources written by experts in the field of study
• Secondary sources supported by research in primary sources
• Credible sources (experts in the area of study)
• Relevant research (materials are pertinent to the area of study)
• Peer-reviewed journal articles (journal articles reviewed by recognized experts in the relevant field of study) are required.
• Official Government Websites are appropriate sources of information.
• Educational websites may be appropriate in some cases but should be evaluated carefully.

The following are examples of what is not acceptable for academic research and referencing:

• Encyclopedias
• Dictionaries
• Wikipedia, other wikis, or blogs
• Websites and other sources that do not provide quality researched materials (site does not use credible sources to support the information in the document)

All research must reflect professional academic protocol and be documented according to APA standards (Please see guidelines for avoiding plagiarism).