A War Which Has To Be Called for What It Is
Published in De Volkskrant
(Netherlands) on 26 September 2014
by (link to original)
France is in up to its ears in a war against a jihadist group which has proclaimed itself the Islamic State. This statement is not a dramatic exaggeration on our part. What should be added to this observation is something equally as important: France has entered into a long-term fight, of which the outcome is by no means certain.
The jihad against “the unbelievers, the crusaders and the Jews” in which hatred for the West has been compounded, marks the ludicrous proportions Sunni extremism has taken on. The Islamic State group is a child of al-Qaida.
What is significant is that the airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State group were launched with the involvement of five Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The extent to which these countries are involved in these strikes is not that important. This is more of a political issue than a military one.
This involvement is a first indication of the mobilization of Sunni Arab regimes in the fight against the Islamic State group. The Arab countries are the ones primarily involved in this matter, much more than the U.S. or the Europeans. For, hallucinating about declaring a caliphate in nearby regions, the Islamic State group wants to break down the borders of states in the Middle East.
The involvement of Arab countries is an essential prerequisite for a possible victory at some point on radical Islam. Different from what Washington is saying, Islamic State group jihadists will not be defeated by bombardments.
This group can be weakened, it can be reduced: this is important. But the victory will come from the Arabic-Islamic world once it — after far-reaching political-ideological reform — has found a cure for the deadly disease which radical Islamism is presenting.
The jihad against “the unbelievers, the crusaders and the Jews” in which hatred for the West has been compounded, marks the ludicrous proportions Sunni extremism has taken on. The Islamic State group is a child of al-Qaida.
What is significant is that the airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State group were launched with the involvement of five Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The extent to which these countries are involved in these strikes is not that important. This is more of a political issue than a military one.
This involvement is a first indication of the mobilization of Sunni Arab regimes in the fight against the Islamic State group. The Arab countries are the ones primarily involved in this matter, much more than the U.S. or the Europeans. For, hallucinating about declaring a caliphate in nearby regions, the Islamic State group wants to break down the borders of states in the Middle East.
The involvement of Arab countries is an essential prerequisite for a possible victory at some point on radical Islam. Different from what Washington is saying, Islamic State group jihadists will not be defeated by bombardments.
This group can be weakened, it can be reduced: this is important. But the victory will come from the Arabic-Islamic world once it — after far-reaching political-ideological reform — has found a cure for the deadly disease which radical Islamism is presenting.