The Caliphate

The Paris slaughter produced one effect: ISIS cannot be allowed any longer to control territory on which it’s able to organize, finance, direct and plan its savagery.

President Hollande has demanded a NATO collective response. Probably that won’t happen because it would require forces on the ground and that would require a credible local ally (like in Iraq or Afghanistan), which there is NOT. But the only adequate measure is (also) military anyway. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the recent downing of a Russian passenger jet as well. It’s not a regional threat, it’s global. We already had money, technology, intelligence, military power and now international cooperation: the only thing remaining and most needed. ISIS itself has given it to us. Well done!

This level of evil cannot be allowed physical terrain on which to breed. More time cannot be allowed: it’s not enough to say ISIS will be defeated without a corresponding plan to do so.

Moreover those killings occurred as hundreds of Muslim refugees from Syria are getting into Europe: they’re fleeing ISIS too. This increases the possibility of a spiral of religious violence against them. The final winning will come from hundreds of millions of Muslims living in peace who raise their voice in unison. Unity is now attainable because the Caliphate has become the enemy of everybody. Its territory is drawing back, its message totally wrong (why refugees are here?). But patience is needed, not rush.

The second goal will be to allow good non-ISIS Sunnis to create their own island of peace and decency, their own land. Otherwise everything else is pointless: once Evil is gone, Good must flourish instead, or Evil will be back. Defeating ISIS militarily wouldn’t be difficult, because it’s surrounded by deadly armed adversaries, all against it. But to keep it defeated, someone must rule its territories or else, it would come back. Kurds are a crucial ally but are only an ethnic minority and cannot govern afterwards.

One thing must be clear: this is not our crisis. Islam is in a state of crisis. Many aren’t getting this point.

….Always humble,

Angiolino