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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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22Aug14
News Analysis: Despite gains in Iraq, Syria-based terrorists a problem for U.S.
Backed by U.S. air power, Kurdish forces are making gains in Iraq against the Islamic State terrorist group, but the same Islamic radicals are on the march in neighboring Syria.
That poses a major problem for the United States, which aims to keep terrorism in check a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, and Washington is nervously eyeing moves by the Islamic State, which has in recent months overrun vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq.
The militants' territorial gains have Washington worried that its ultimate nightmare could come true -- that the group could eventually carve out a haven in Iraq or Syria and use it as a staging ground for attacks against the United States, much like al- Qaida did in Afghanistan.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Thursday at the Pentagon that the Islamic State militants "can be contained, but not in perpetuity. This is an organization that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision which will eventually have to be defeated."
But containing the radicals may be difficult for the U.S. to pull off. While Kurdish fighters have made gains in Iraq, the terrorists are running amok in Syria, and no one is trying to stop them.
The U.S. is highly unlikely to lend airpower -- or any other military assistance -- to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who the White House has charged with committing "horrific" human rights abuses against his own people.
Wayne White, former deputy director of the State Department's Middle East Intelligence Office, told Xinhua that the least controversial option for the U.S., NATO and moderate Arab states would be to significantly step up their military assistance to rebels combating the Islamic State rather than intervening directly.
And given its closely connected two-front war, the group faces a challenge -- namely, where should it send the most combatants and heavy weapons?
In fact, most militaries lacking massive resources fail when they start a two-front war because it creates competing demands for scarce military resources, eventually resulting in a situation in which neither front can be adequately defended because forces are so divided, White said.
How Islamic State Became a Powerful Force
By late last year and early this year, aid from U.S. allies to secular groups and moderate Islamist rebel groups -- plus the Islamic State's bitter clashes with Syrian Kurds -- had the terror group on the defensive in Syria.
Its rebound in Syria is a relatively recent development, clearly aided by the horde of military hardware and money it seized in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq.
Much of this weaponry and money was sent back across the border into Syria to arrest the Islamic State's reverses there, White said.
But when the military pressure against the group increases in Iraq, some of its weaponry will likely be shunted back into Iraq, quite possibly causing difficulties for its counterparts in Syria, White said.
Obama Accused of Ignoring Problem Until Recently
President Barack Obama's critics have blasted him for putting the Islamic State problem on the backburner until it blew up in his face.
Republican Strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua that while the White House largely ignored the problem over the last year, the president is now engaged in the issue.
He said the president is looking at the group "in a very serious way."
"Obviously he ignored this for a long time, but when you've got defense secretaries out there saying 'my gosh, this is far worse than we ever imagined,'" the issue became difficult to ignore, he said.
Still, the current administration is unlikely to engage much beyond limited airstrikes, as Obama is concerned about his legacy and wants to be known as the president who ended the war in Iraq, he added.
[Source: By Matthew Rusling, Xinhuga, Washington, 22Aug14]
 | This document has been published on 25Aug14 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |