An Even More Sour Apple for America
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 21 September 2015
by Richard Wagner (link to
original)
Airstrikes are not enough. The failure of the previous coalition against the Islamic State is responsible for Moscow's invitation to Secretary of State John Kerry to "destroy" the Islamic State group together.
It's not uplifting to have as a partner a man with whom one would rather have nothing to do because of his callousness and brutality. The ruthless actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in eastern Ukraine have not been forgotten, and by imposing sanctions on his regime, the West will make him take note of his lack of willingness to seek peace after forcibly redrawing the world map. But in light of the deadly threat posed by the barbaric Islamic State group, whose fury has opened the floodgates to refugees from the Middle East, the West isn't bound to the undesirable Putin.
The invitation to Secretary of State John Kerry to "destroy" the Islamic State group is also due to the lack of success by the previous coalition against the Islamic State group and the aversion of the West to send troops to Syria. In this regard, the willingness of Moscow appears to be greater. All complaints by the coalition considered, a pooling of power from all the divergent interests may ultimately be necessary.
It's not uplifting to have as a partner a man with whom one would rather have nothing to do because of his callousness and brutality. The ruthless actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in eastern Ukraine have not been forgotten, and by imposing sanctions on his regime, the West will make him take note of his lack of willingness to seek peace after forcibly redrawing the world map. But in light of the deadly threat posed by the barbaric Islamic State group, whose fury has opened the floodgates to refugees from the Middle East, the West isn't bound to the undesirable Putin.
The invitation to Secretary of State John Kerry to "destroy" the Islamic State group is also due to the lack of success by the previous coalition against the Islamic State group and the aversion of the West to send troops to Syria. In this regard, the willingness of Moscow appears to be greater. All complaints by the coalition considered, a pooling of power from all the divergent interests may ultimately be necessary.