The events that transpired in Paris this past weekend are a complete and utter tragedy. But I am heartened to see the response of citizens around the world who are standing behind those who were so ruthlessly murdered by terrible, inhuman-acting radicals.

I am not interested in turning this tragedy into a political talking point. There isn’t any way to make sense or order from those deaths. But these events do bring the pressing issues that the world is facing into harsh perspective.

These terrorist actions of ISIS, when taken with the refugee crisis and the other tragedies that they perpetuate on a daily basis, prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that radical Islamic terrorism is one of the foremost issues that the world is facing today.

The security concern and threat that ISIS poses is not limited to one area or one nation, but is an international crisis which needs to be addressed far more effectively than is has been to date.

But whose responsibility is it to combat ISIS? In short, I think the solution needs to come from a variety of areas.

Also, before anyone gets offended or thinks that there is blame to be put for these terrorist attacks, there isn’t. But being responsible for participating in the solution to a problem is different than being responsible for the problem. The only ones responsible for perpetrating the horrific events in Paris are the monsters who carried them out and their support system, but can the rest of the world contribute to making sure events like this never happen again?

For one, the military and political efforts against ISIS need to be far more coordinated than they have. One could argue that Obama has royally, totally failed as commander-in-chief of this nation on the basis of ISIS’s existence alone. Blame Bush all you want for getting us involved in conflict in the Middle East, but ISIS happened on Obama’s watch and his legacy as President should reflect that.

But I am not advocating simply for more airstrikes. We have seen more than a decade’s worth of American military action in the Middle East, and to what end? The problem still persists. ISIS needs to be crippled and defeated, and the only way to accomplish this seems to be through force. But it is apparent to me that this war on terrorism will not be won on force alone.

Two more ingredients need to be added to ensure that freedom and security win against terror and radical rule. The West needs to provide more positive aid to the Middle East, rather than just bombs. ISIS can thrive by demonizing the West, and how hard is that to do when we are daily carrying out airstrikes and military movements? If predator drones were firing into my neighborhood, I’d be pretty angry as well – therefore we should provide positive aid in addition to our troop movements.

I do not know what form this aid should take. Maybe once the conflict has abated some, refugees could be resettled back into the Middle East into more stable, functioning states. Or possibly the solution will come in some other form – the full answer for this question cannot possibly be known right now. But what I do know is that the current strategy of swapping dictators, providing more weapons to the conflict, and bombing targets in the Middle East has not been effective in bringing about security, and other solutions do need to be diligently pursued.

Secondly, those Muslims who are non-radical need to continue their rejection of radical Islam and need to be supported by all others. Increased hate crimes and division in the wake of these events will not solve the problem, they will only contribute to it. While there are some who would debate whether or not the core of Islam is violent or not, there really is not anything productive about that discussion. You are not going to convince 1.4 billion people out of their faith (maybe not even one), so you might as well contribute to ensuring that those Muslims who are peaceful win this civil war of sorts over their religion so that future generations may only pass down religious ideals that are peaceful, not radicalized or violent versions on either side of the conflict.

Terrorism has been one of the foremost issues affecting our generation, and the tragedy of what happened in Paris and is still happening all over the world only reaffirms that this is one of the primary problems our world is facing.

I only hope that new leaders, future world changers, can rise up to create and pursue new solutions that will eventually make this world a better, more peaceful place. These solutions will not come easy or cheap and that is why I think that the solution will necessarily come with contributions from all sides.