By: MUHAMED JUSİĆ- Bosnian Analyst on Islam, the Balkans and
the Middle East
The brutality of the ISIS toward its enemies in Iraq and
Syria is as terrifying as the silence and ignorance by those who helped create
it.
But, let’s start from the beginning. The cruelty of ISIS
toward Iraqi and Syrian minorities -Arabic Christians, Yezidis and Kurds- as
well as Sunni Muslims who refuse to obey them, threatens to leave a dark and
lasting stain on the history of Islam, in whose name they proclaim to act. The
silence of Muslim religious leaders, intellectuals, and those who call on to
Islam or at least their adherence to the Muslim community in their political
dealerships, with rare exceptions, is indeed so shameful.
The very least they could do is to clearly proclaim “not in
our name”, as do many young Muslims through various social network outlets. Let
us remember how Muslims appreciated and admired the Jews who protested against
the violence in Gaza, and the many citizens of world metropolis who also stood
against their own government’s decision to attack Iraq, which will later
produce ISIS, saying “not in our name”. Unfortunately, today we are not
witnessing such mass reactions from the “Arabic and Muslim streets” that would
speak up to protect Christians and Yezidis in Iraq, who are now being
persecuted and whose children are being traded as slaves. These people had
lived there peacefully in the times of the rightly guided caliphs of Umayyads
and Abbasids to those from Ottomans descent, who for sure were better and more
just Muslims than today “self-proclaimed caliph” had.
In fact, the so-called “Islamic State” uses brutality to
compensate for its small number of soldiers and lack of military equipment. By
combining terror and cruelty over civilians and those who stand up to them,
they are trying to run a vast area in Syria and Iraq with a smaller number of
soldiers. This area goes from Aleppo, almost at the Mediterranean coast, all
the way to the suburbs of Baghdad. In the meantime, they are trying to win over
new cities, military barracks, and to gain booty and gradually enlarge their
soldier basis, recruited from conquests of towns and villages, with newcomers
often being children who join their forces in a desperate attempt to keep their
heads on their shoulders and protect the lives of their family members.
The West’s responsibility
Well-produced videos of brutal executions and other forms of
cruelty are an important part of the “caliphs' soldiers” war tactics. It has so
far produced significant results. These, as well as other unconventional war
techniques, are not something traditional armies are used to, especially if
they lack serious political and other support.
This brings us to those who are much more responsible for
what is happening in Iraq and Syria today. We should not easily dismiss the
responsibility of neoconservative ideologists and their political offspring in
Washington, as well as allies in London and worldwide, who once endeavored on a
careless and poorly planned adventure in Iraq. No one has ever advocated for
Saddam Hussein`s dictatorship, but everybody was aware that the collapse of the
Iraqi state and its institutions would bring no good to anyone.
We need to keep in mind that the dissolution of Iraqi army
and the subsequent creation of Shia paramilitary formations supported by the
coalition forces, who were intended to suppress the Sunni rebellion against the
central Iraqi government, as well as an all too swift withdrawal whilst
ignoring many of the problems in order to minimize political damage on American
soil, are mistakes that resulted in ISIS.
Obama is obviously not prepared to correct the mistakes of
Bush Junior these days. He instead takes this opportunity to point out that
those who criticize him for his inefficient and confusing foreign policy have
themselves made even bigger mistakes. Bear in mind that, Obama was not the one
who pulled out troops from Iraq prematurely. It was, in fact, a contract signed
by George Bush Jr. before leaving the White House and Obama, were only sticking
to what was previously agreed upon.
However, Obama cannot afford to have a genocide or ethnic
cleansing happen on his watch or to see radical militants, denounced by
Al-Qaida itself, become a regional factor for continuous instability. This is
why his hand has been forced and he is now trying to send a message that
Washington is actually doing something simply by lobbing a few projectiles of
the targets of ISIS.
It is certainly true that there are now no easy solutions,
although many wish for them.
Targeted air strikes by the US on ISIS will only strengthen
ISIS position. Anti-American sentiment continues to be prevalent all over the
Arabic world. Unless it is a systematic military action with serious allies in
the field, not just Kurds and Iraqi Shia, but, Sunni tribes that would replace
American infantry, air attacks cannot and will not have serious effects other
than sending a soft message that “something” is being done and that United
States is not idly watching ISIS brutality and crimes against humanity.
Global duel (OR – Geo-political chess)
After the Iraqi army`s breakdown and its submission to Shia
paramilitary formations, with influence and influx of Iranian experts and
volunteers, fighting against the ISIS can only deepen the Sunni-Shia conflict
that has been largely a forced one.
America is now fighting with Iran against Iraqi Sunni’s who
are fighting with ISIS while in Syria it is the other way around– where America
finds itself supporting the Sunni’s struggle against the Assad regime. That is
why the key to unraveling this Gordian knot is in Baghdad, where a common
government must function, equally representing Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds, and to
regain control over the Iraqi army again.
The one thing that simply cannot go on is ignoring the
suffering of civilians caught up in the brutality of geo-political rivalries by
world and regional powers. ISIS would not exist today if there was a timely
intervention in Syria; if regional power circles, first and foremost those of
the so-called Islamic world, did not do all they could to break-up the unity of
the Syrian opposition for the sake of their own petty interests; and if the
global duel between Russia and the West did not have a new cold war aura to it.
On second thought, they can go on doing so if they are
prepared to accept ISIS at NATO borders, which is now the case, and wait until
they consolidate control over that area.
