Far across the globe, conflicts rage in the hot, tense deserts and green valleys of Syria and in the chilly industrial heart of Ukraine. For both of these wars, the anniversary of their unfortunate initiation is nearing. The fact that the so-called Islamic State crisis in Syria and Iraq and the pro-Russian rebellions in Ukraine have perpetuated for so long brings up difficult questions about what to do next.

In early Feburary, leaders from Germany and France met in Minsk, Belarus with Russian and Ukrainian leaders in the hopes of securing another ceasefire agreement between the Ukrainian government and the rebels. In a conflict which has cost nearly 6,000 lives and destroyed millions more, any lull in the fighting is a welcomed one where help can be sent to those trapped by the fighting.

The new treaty, called Minsk II, is similar to the first Minsk treaty, which failed in late 2014, but observers and leaders are hopeful that Minsk II will succeed. At the time of writing, both sides report minimal breaks in the ceasefire, the first phase of the treaty, and claim to be pulling back heavy weaponry from the front lines, the second phase of the treaty. While it remains to be seen if this peace will last or disintegrate again into violence, for now, the front lines in Ukraine are quiet.

“It’s a band-aid, and a band-aid is not going to stop the bleeding,” says Mr. Dyches, AP World History teacher at Newsome of the treaty. However, he did not think it was useless. “It was significant because leaders in Europe sat down with President Putin without the US,” he said, reaffirming his stance that this is not the United States’ war and that it does not have to police every conflict in the world.

There are Senators in the United States, such as John McCain, that call for the government to send lethal military aid to Ukraine to combat the rebellion that the Western world believes Russia to be fueling. Russia continues to deny this fact as it has since March of last year.

Dyches continues, “There is no reason for the US to get involved in this regional issue. … If other European nations do [give weapons to Ukraine], we follow with weapons, no ground troops though. No way.”

Only with time will the world see if war-torn Ukraine will find peace. However, time and diplomacy are not the ways that other factions, such as the entity of Islamic State, operate.

When asked how the belligerents in Ukraine and IS compare, Dyches immediately shook his head. “Their ideology is totally opposite… Historically, Russia has always wanted warm-water ports… It’s Russia’s aim to dominate the Crimea and the only way it can control it is continuing the fighting… [However], I’m scared of ISIS, not intimidated. I’m scared for if they establish a caliphate.”

The Islamic State group has terrorized large swaths of Syria and Iraq for close to eight months currently. They are known for their radical take on traditional Islamic practices and are seen as a grotesque perversion of the religion and a blight by the vast majority of practicing Muslims. The group is behind acts akin to genocide by systematically targeting minority ethnicities and religious sects who live inside the area they control. They seek to destroy all who do not follow their ideology, even going so far as to destroy priceless artifacts of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. In doing so, it is robbing all of humanity of irreplaceable pieces of history and culture.

The UN Security Council has declared the group’s activities as “barbaric terrorist acts,” however it has not taken more severe action against the group. Only a coalition of several nations such as Jordan, Iraq, Canada, and the US are actively fighting IS using airstrikes to assist pro-western militias on the ground.

Dyches, a veteran of the Gulf War in Iraq, had strong words on the matter. “The brutality of what they are doing is unacceptable. We cannot play a passive role here. We have to get involved, even if it means putting boots back on the ground. What they are doing is totally unacceptable. We thought the world saw religious tolerance a long time ago, but that’s not what we’re seeing here.”

Should both the conflict in Ukraine and in the Middle East spread, the United States may enter a dramatic new phase of international military and diplomatic involvement. With a sizable portion of Newsome’s student population interested in joining the Armed Forces after high school, the impact these expanding issues may have has yet to be seen.

Seventy-seven years ago, British Prime Minister returned to Britain from Nazi Germany claiming he had forged a “peace for our time.” This peace lasted less than one year before World War II ignited in Europe. Seventy-seven years later, the world is once facing a similar threat with similar promises of peace. One can only hope the lesson was learned last time.