Coalition against ISIS needs clarity – By Agha Shaukat Jafri

 

“As U.S. Escalates Air War on ISIS, Allies Slip Away  A strike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a Houthi weapons depot in Sana,Yemen, in September. Mohamed Al-Sayaghi/ReutersAL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar — As the United States prepares to intensifyairstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, the Arab allies who withgreat fanfare sent warplanes on the initial missions there a year ago have largely vanished from the campaign. Source: The New York Times

The U.S. led Coalition, crafted earlier this year, is comprised of almost 65 countries, and also includes the Muslim States of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and The United Arab Emirates. Its supposed mission has been to destroy and degrade ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Ironically, It has turned out to be a hoax of horrific heights because neither of the aforementioned Muslim allies has ever been honest or sincere in terms of sharing the objectives of its other partners.They have simply been hoodwinking the Western powers so as to curry political and military support. First and foremost, they wanted to dislodge Nuri Kamal Maleki, the former prime Minister of Iraq from the helm of Iraqi government, and they prevailed in doing that. This success emboldened them to move on to their next mission, which was to topple the secular and sovereign Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

The so-called Arab spring that arrived in February of 2011, engulfed Tunisia first, followed by Egypt, Libya and Yemen, resulting in regime changes in every case. Syria was potentially the last victim of this ill-fated movement, where a peaceful protest turned into a quagmire for everyone due to miscues by the Syrian government. The ensuing tragic events that came to light reveal that the Salafi thugs from foreign lands under the cover of rebel groups planted by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were instrumental in creating all the chaos and confusion. These hired guns, namely ISIS and its underlings, Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham, and a splinter group of Al-Qaida, quickly got busy inflicting bloodshed and destruction in the Levant.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the Salafi trio and chief culprits associated with this non-stop mayhem, were frustrated by their repeated failures in establishing a Salafi empire in the Middle East. Their dreams of becoming regional powers were already shattered in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and finally in Iraq with the fall of Saddam’s Baath regime. The emergence of Islamic Republic of Iran as a major player in the international arena, despite punishing economic sanctions imposed by the West, and coupled with the alleged “Rise of a Shia crescent from Tehran to Beirut”, did not sit well with the Salafi Mafia, and sensing that the time was ripe to venture out to Iraq in an attempt to dismember that nation by having ISIS, Salafi and other radical sectarian gangs seize major chunks of Iraqi territory. Furthermore, a Saudi-led coalition of cruel and criminal Arab states was formed to demolish and decapitate the innocent and indigenous citizenry of Yemen using U.S. supplied cluster bombs.

The end game is beginning to take shape now, as the chaos and confusion that was engineered by the Salafi cabal in the vicinities of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon is showing its impact on the body politic of Salafi cabal of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. They have begun to hear the fearful footsteps of Russia and Iran, who are poised to change the calculus on the ground as well as in the air. Turkey’s dumb and dangerous attempt of shooting down a Russian Fighter plane that allegedly entered its space for 17 measly seconds, were acts of desperation and retaliation against Russia who has been busy, since this past September, punishing the Syrian ethnic Turkmen Jihadist militants opposed to the Syrian government. Turkey, in the meantime, sees nothing wrong in bombing Syrian Kurds, knowing full well that they are the most reliable U.S. allies on the ground fighting ISIS.

The clouds may have darkened in terms of a quick accord between the warring parties, as Russia’s position at the negotiation table has greatly strengthened because of the loss of its aircraft. Bashar al-Assad, along with his allies, hold all the cards. He can now assert that Turkey was solely responsible for facilitating the influx of almost 40,000 foreign fighter into Syrian territory through its borders. These fighters, subsequently joined ISIS and its subsidiaries Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham, as well as Al-Qaida. A new dawn will emerge from the ashes of the Levant as a political settlement will become essential to the survival of that region. All the talk about red lines and border lines will be replaced by movement for a peaceful, soverign and secular Syria. Of course, as the old adage goes,”Things have to get worse before they can get better”.

Agha Shaukat Jafri