On the path to mayhem!

With some of the same idiots who urged restraint in Syria now urging strikes against in Iraq on behalf of Maliki and Iran, against a Sunni insurgency that is far from being dominated by ISIS, as all and sundry is willing to argue, it is important for some of the remaining rational voices out there to push for the adoption of a clear policy objective and a clear endgame vis-à-vis current developments in Syria and Iraq, and throughout the region. Inaction premised on fear of potential consequences that soon become self-fulfilling prophecies on account of said inaction, drone attacks and air strikes without political follow through, and kneejerk reactions continue to be the main ingredients for disaster. The U.S. cannot afford any more of this. The peoples of the region cannot afford any more of this.

Continue reading “On the path to mayhem!” →

Few thoughts on ISIS, Iran, and the Unites States

Scene from the Geneva talks over Iran's nuclear program. — Scene from the Geneva talks over Iran’s nuclear program.

ISIS is working towards the fulfillment of her own goals and visions in both Iraq and Syria, irrespective of what other forces on the ground want. For this, its leaders are willing to enter into all different sorts of transitional alliances. In Iraq, they are now clearly coordinating with other Sunni forces and groups in the offensive to wrest control of the western parts where Sunni Arabs make up the majority.

Continue reading “Few thoughts on ISIS, Iran, and the Unites States” →

ISIS the Bizarre

Abu Waheeb, an ISIS commander in Ramadi.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham is a sophisticated organization and has its own vision that she is pursuing in the Levant. But the current situation in the region is quite fluid and complex, and this creates ample opportunities for all different sorts of bizarre transitional alliances, no matter how they are negotiated, to emerge, and for strange spats of coordination, even with an avowed enemy, to take place, albeit on a provisional basis.

Continue reading “ISIS the Bizarre” →

Syria Militants Said to Recruit Visiting Americans to Attack U.S.

Syria Militants Said to Recruit Visiting Americans to Attack U.S. – NYTimes.com.

And here we go again: Building up a case for drone strikes, and for going back to doing business with Assad. I am not implying that the reports are false. On the contrary they are as true as those reports of Assad’s complicity in the chemical weapons attack and all the massacres perpetrated by his loyalist militias from the onset of this genocide to this very moment. But issuing an order for a drone attack is much easier for this administration than committing to a policy that can make a real difference on the ground. It creates the impression of doing something, while your main focus is to actually avoid entanglement. I am yet to hear a cogent argument showing how one can actually make a difference on the ground without being “entangled,” at least for a certain period of time, and for all the headaches that come with entanglement. Drone strikes against “certain rebels” while avoiding strikes against the Assad regime, even after they crossed all red lines, the one drawn by Obama and those delineated by international law, will only serve to make matters worse in Syria. Rebels are doing their best to combat extremists with no support from the U.S. But Assad has to go in order to really curtail spread of violence beyond borders of the country and the region.