Islamic State: World Haters
ISIS keeps adding to the list of countries that despise them, but why isn’t anyone doing anything about it? The Coalition of the Willing has tried but, in September, General Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. Central Command who is leading the charge against ISIS, told Congress that only four or five of the original group of Syrians trained by the U.S. to fight against ISIS remain willing to fight. This statement led to public criticism that the U.S. approach against ISIS is failing. Certainly, in light of the October 31st Russian Metrojet tragedy and the Friday 13th attacks in Paris, the failure logic makes sense when you consider that instead of being degraded the group’s capabilities seem to be bolstered.
Indeed, the list of ISIS haters around the world is growing, even among the populations of Iraq and Syria. But while the list of anti-ISIS factions increases, there continues to be the question of who will lead the charge against them? The United States, having created ISIS to an extent, is not keen on sending anything other than precision bombs into ISIS controlled areas. Russia, Iran, and Syria were all enjoying the resource drain that ISIS has put on the west, not only militarily, but also in terms of the challenges the refugee crisis is creating for the European Union. Perhaps the recent Paris attackers exploited this crisis to gain entry into Paris. In relation to Middle Eastern powers, aside from Israel, most countries can barely contain what is happening within their borders, much less have the ability to fight on the ground in ISIS controlled areas.
Enough is enough though. After these horrific attacks against Russia and France, and any number of other countries, ISIS should be number one on the world hit list. Maybe its time to work with Russia, Iran, China, France, and the other countries who have an interest in getting rid of this group. After all, a bully is a bully. Not standing up to the group empowers them. But there are serious questions in terms of strategy. If the air campaign isn’t working then what can be done to improve the situation? Is a ground offensive on the menu? Remember ISIS is trying to draw a ground force into their area of control to perpetuate and expand its caliphate. There is no easy answer. However, the way forward seems more certain now that Russia and France are energized. Working together on this problem could result in a more successful outcome despite the unusual bedfellows and the previous ‘arms-length’ approach to ISIS.
MikeNCM is a contributor to the Homeland Security (HS) Vortex which is a platform where insiders from the policy, law enforcement, fire service and emergency management fields converge to discuss issues related to Homeland Security.
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