War
on ISIL Presents Obama with Historic Opportunity (Khaleej Times, U.A.E.)
"Unlike
the coalition Bush built on the doctored premise of weapons of mass
destruction, the momentum for this one against ISIL
comes from across the board. The current coalition is so effective that for the
first time in history, the issue of defeating terrorism and repelling those who
rise against Muslim states and their legitimate governments has been raised in
the Hajj sermon. … Obama has an opportunity in disaster to address the root
causes of unrest across the world inspired by religion, geography and
ethno-linguistic prejudice. All he has to do is address historic discords
ranging from the issue of Palestinian statehood to injustices against badly-treated
communities in the Middle East, Asia and Africa."
Barack Obama is
finally in the shoes of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
At the fag end of his second term, the first Black
African-American president has successfully knitted together a coalition
of the willing to fight militancy in the Middle East. Though by his own words
Obama was the last person to plunge into a fully-fledged war, circumstances
appear to have compelled him to walk that path. Washington is now at the
vanguard of a movement which seeks to exterminate the militants of ISIL from Syria and Iraq. The strategy on hand ranges from
aerial strikes to - if need be - boots-on-the-ground. This, however, would be a
negation of the measures America and its allies are contemplating to root out
extremism in the region and elsewhere by backing local forces to battle the
irritants.
As it stands now, all of America's major Arab allies,
including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are part of this coalition
dedicated to crushing ISIL - and the success story
doesn’t stop here. A skeptical Turkey has also joined the bandwagon, and has the
"Down Under." Australia has exhibited genuine leadership by realistically
taking stock of the situation and joining the coalition. For Australia, Britain
and other far-off European destinations, the issue is one of brain drain: At
home and abroad - young people are going wayward and joining militant groups.
According to rough estimates, thousands of people from the so-called civilized
world have embraced these dreaded organizations - and the craze is accelerating.
It is here that European capitals and other developed states must come up with coherent
domestic and foreign policies to defeat this terror nexus, which now threatens
capitals as far away as Toronto and Canberra.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Unlike the coalition Bush built on the doctored premise of
weapons of mass destruction, the momentum for this one against ISIL comes from across the board. The current coalition is
so effective that for the first time in history, the issue of defeating
terrorism and repelling those who rise against Muslim states and their legitimate
governments has been raised in the Hajj sermon, with obvious references to the
fissures ISIL has created in the region.
Obama has an opportunity in disaster to address the root
causes of unrest across the world inspired by religion, geography and
ethno-linguistic prejudice. All he has to do is address historic discords
ranging from the issue of Palestinian statehood to injustices against badly-treated
communities in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Then the sympathy upon which
such terror groups thrive will easily be removed. ISIL
and its like must be defeated on both battle and ideological fronts.
