World

Yes, The US Is Pulling Its Weight In The Fight Against ISIS

After the ISIS attacks in Paris and France's retaliatory airstrikes against the group, some pundits are saying the U.S. should do more.

Yes, The US Is Pulling Its Weight In The Fight Against ISIS
U.S. Air Force / Tech. Sgt. E. Taylor Worley
SMS

After ISIS launched a series of attacks in Paris, killing nearly 130 people, France responded with a surge of airstrikes against ISIS' de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria. 

Russia has been conducting airstrikes in Syria for weeks now, ostensibly against ISIS. 

And the U.S.? Well, some political pundits say the country isn't doing enough to fight ISIS.

There are otherstoo. But here's the thing: The U.S. is fighting ISIS. 

In fact, the U.S. has conducted more airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq than every other coalition nation combined. 

Since the U.S. and its allies have started bombing ISIS, the Pentagon says there have been 8,125 total airstrikes. Out of those, 6,353 have been from the U.S., and 1,772 have been from the rest of the coalition.

The U.S. has conducted over 2,600 airstrikes in Syria alone. The rest of the coalition? Less than 150. 

So while it's easy to say the U.S. is "leading from behind" on fighting ISIS or has a "deep-seated aversion to using military force," the numbers tell a different story. 

This video includes images from Tom Walsh / CC BY 3.0 and Luke Anthony Firth / CC BY 3.0. Music is from Chris Zabriskie / CC BY 4.0.