What is war? This question may seem simple — war is the acknowledged conflict between two parties.

In today’s world, however, the answer is not always so clear.

The terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday that left 129 innocent people killed and 352 injured have revealed that.

We may not say we’re at war, but someone is at war with us — or at least wants to be.

On Sunday, France dropped 20 bombs on ISIS command and recruitment centers — an ammunition depot and a training camp in Raqqa, Syria — according to a statement released by the French Defense Ministry.

The Pentagon confirmed that the French airstrikes were performed in coordination with United States forces.

Francois Hollande, France’s president, acknowledged Friday’s attacks as “an act of war” and promised that France will be “merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group.”

The Islamic State’s desire for war can be cited in its reign of terrorist acts from beheading journalists to committing war crimes such as destroying the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

In turn, U.S. forces dropped bombs on ISIS in Syria numerous times — often in coalition with other countries.

Though neither the U.S. nor any other victimized countries have officially waged war against ISIS, the military exploitations we dedicate to them are, at the very least, war-like.

War is not always physical — as displayed in the Cold War with the Soviet Union during the 1980s.

However, the violence of ISIS that flashes across our television screens every day is abundant with undeniable acts

of war.

But is war only war if we respond

to it?

The fact of the matter is that we have responded to it, simply without the

label “war.”

I am not taking a position on whether or not the U.S. or any other country should or should not be involved in war with ISIS.

I am simply trying to understand if every country that expresses opposition towards ISIS has already inadvertently committed to conflict.

ISIS presents an undeniable threat for countries everywhere. Even great world powers like France have suffered from this group.

ISIS attempts time after time to seduce some of the most powerful governments in the world into war.

We tell ourselves that we will not let it get the best of us, yet France has already made good on its promise to target ISIS.

I have never had first-hand exposure to war. I cannot personally relate what it looks like to see bombs expel a storm of dust into the desert air or to feel the vibration of a gunshot resonate through my body.

But what I see on the news looks like war and that is unsettling.

As much as I wish this were not the reality, there will always be violence in

the world.

This is unlike any scale of brutality I have heard of within the past few years.

I believe we are living in a time of crisis and whether or not we classify it as war is not

the issue.

We need to reflect on the core of our actions against ISIS and decide how we will let it define us as a nation and a world.