Daily Times

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came to global attention because of large-scale human rights violations by its troops in Mosul. Escaping Iraqi soldiers were mercilessly killed and so were innocent women and children belonging to the Shia community. Young girls were forced into sexual slavery. These barbaric acts shook global consciousness because such barbarity has not been seen in the past. ISIS is now on the cusp of victory, as its forces are now on the outskirts of Baghdad and the fall of Iraq looks imminent. What were the factors that led to the creation of ISIS? There are basically three reasons for the emergence of this group.

First, the US occupation of Iraq was a monumental blunder and misadventure by George Bush. When the US finally decided to withdraw its forces, it unthinkingly made Noori al Maliki the prime minister. Mr Maliki pursued a violent sectarian policy against Sunnis that fuelled the rise of ISIS. He removed Sunnis from important positions in the government and ignominiously removed senior army officers, a huge tactical mistake as these very officers are now providing both tactical and logistical support to ISIS. The US, which could have prevented Maliki from pursuing discriminatory policies, chose to remain silent.

Secondly, the US could have taken the assistance of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, for countering ISIS, but alienated him by arming the rebels. Most of the equipment supplied to the rebels fell into the hands of ISIS. Thirdly, the US policy of “no boots on the ground” in Iraq has further complicated the already fragile situation as the Iraqi army does not have the courage and confidence to take on ISIS. The US does not want to put its soldiers at risk as it is well aware that ISIS is not a collection of ragtag soldiers but consists of well trained soldiers from Saddam Hussein’s disbanded army, who want to avenge the treatment meted out to them by Maliki. It is for this reason it is treading very cautiously in Iraq.

Patrick Cockburn, the author of Jihadis Return, has attributed the US invasion and occupation of Iraq as the primary reason for the rise of ISIS. This organisation did not exist, in the present form, before the occupation. The author goes on to write, “Ideologically, ISIS has emerged out of the jihadi movement and its religious beliefs are not much different from that of Saudi Wahhabism,” the variant of Islam, which is effectively the state religion of Saudi Arabia. It is simply carrying these beliefs to a higher and more violent level, as ISIS’s mission is to establish a caliphate in Syria and Iraq to begin with and later spread its ideology to other countries. ISIS, according to the author, has successfully managed to reignite the war in Iraq, which had died down but never quite ended.

The US finds itself in a bind today; it now has to deal with an organisation that, unlike al Qaeda, is far more motivated and willing to engage with the US in a long drawn war. Furthermore, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS leader, is an astute and shrewd man, who has gained tremendous experience of dealing with US troops in Syria. A US intelligence official commented: “These guys know the terrorism business inside and out, and they are the ones who survived aggressive counter terrorism campaigns during the surge.” The US is well aware of the strength of ISIS and is, therefore, treading cautiously in engaging them on the ground to avoid casualties of its forces. Moreover, if the coalition forces decide to attack ISIS on the ground, it will not only enhance its credibility in the Muslim world but will encourage hundreds of ordinary Muslims to join its ranks.

Although the semantics have changed, from George Bush’s famous call, “We will smoke al Qaeda out of caves,” to Barack Obama’s call to end the “war on terror” or “we will crush ISIS”, the ground situation in Afghanistan and Iraq continues to remain critical. While al Qaeda continues to inflict heavy casualties in Afghanistan, ISIS is on the cusp of victory in Iraq.

It is very difficult to eliminate ISIS, as it has morphed into a strong fighting force, ready to take on the might of the US. Today, thousands of people from the UK, France and other European countries have joined the organisation. Over 1,500 girls, below the age of 14 years, have joined them. This goes to show that radical Islamisation, based on ideology similar to Wahhabism/Salafasim, has metastasised beyond the shores of Iraq and Syria. You can bomb towns and cities but you cannot bomb an ideology. The only way to counter these barbaric psychopaths would be to ensure that Sunnis are given important positions in the government and the army, in order to win back their confidence in the regime, not an easy task but an attempt that may yield results in the long run.

Before that, the US, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries in the Middle East should join hands to fight ISIS. The first step should be to send troops to Iraq to neutralise ISIS. Once the ISIS forces are driven out, they should help the present government in Iraq in adopting an inclusive policy where Sunnis are given important positions in the government, and the army personnel, who were ignominiously removed, should be reinstated. These are not easy tasks but it is the only way to restore confidence among Sunnis.

The writer is an independent journalist based in Vadodara, India. His contributions have appeared in both Indian and international newspapers