The writer is a Master’s student at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He tweets @uzairyounus
From executing hostages to recruiting foreign fighters, the IS has continued to do everything to draw the West into a war in the Middle East. The 24/7 coverage of the group in the West has aided the cause of the IS, and over 60 per cent of Americans now support US action against it, and about 47 per per cent support the involvement of ground troops. With the presidential campaign drawing closer, Republicans are bound to criticise the way in which a Democrat president has handled the crisis and will ultimately push for tougher action against the terrorist organisation. With Europe still reeling from the rise of extremist attacks on its soil, it could take just one more escalation from the part of the IS to draw the US and its allies into another war. This would be catastrophic for the region and instead of weakening the IS, it will give a boost of legitimacy to the organisation.
The only way to ensure that the West is not drawn into another campaign in the Middle East is for the regional players to step up to the plate. While the threat of violent extremism is real in the US and Europe, it is the countries bordering IS territory that are in the immediate cross hairs of the group. They will face growing instability as the IS continues to spread its ideology. The IS has made it clear that it views the rulers of these states as apostates and that it does not recognise any borders in the region. The horrendous crimes committed by IS militants have led to most Muslims rejecting the group and its ideology and the brutal execution of Moaz alKasasbeh has turned Arab and Muslim public opinion against the group.
While a broad coalition of countries, including Jordan and the UAE, has participated in airstrikes against the IS, such actions are not enough to destroy the group. The IS will have to be defeated through ground operations. Such operations should be conducted by a united force of Muslim-majority nations, in particular Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. While these countries have failed to unite against the IS, it is time they recognised the mutual threat they face from this group. While the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi Army have tried to hold off the group, they do not have the capabilities to sustain a long fight. Training ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels will also take a long time, leaving a united regional force against the IS as the only option.
Such a force must also seek to prevent Bashar alAssad from carrying out indiscriminate attacks on Syrians and neutralise his aerial capabilities. Both, the IS and Assad’s forces have committed atrocious acts and any military campaign must seek to target both forces. The current airstrikes in Syria have only targeted the IS, leading Syrian rebels to conclude that the West and its allies stand together with Assad. This has led to radicalisation and pushed greater number of fighters into the arms of the IS.
The Middle East is going through a period of great internal instability. While the invasion of Iraq set in motion a turn of events that has brought the region to the brink, it is time for regional players to face the IS head-on. Waiting for the US and the West to solve internal problems of the Middle East will only delegitimise the fight against the IS and allow the group to further spread its toxic ideology. Eliminating the group from the territory it controls will take a long and sustained effort. A military force consisting of Muslim forces backed by international airpower is the need of the hour. Such a coalition will have both local and international support that is much-needed for this fight.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2015.
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