Since the end of World War II the world order has favored sovereign states. It has been easier for the most powerful states to keep order and to exploit ones with lesser economic power. President Obama has put America on sale in the Middle East. Obama’s foreign policy assumptions are utter nonsense. The President tried to persuade Americans that the way to beat ISIS was by fixing Syria through a peace process that would bring Turkey, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the EU, and just about every major player together, but the problem is that nobody on that list wants to help to solve the Syrian problem, but instead they want to control the country. The Civil War in Syria happened because the Turks, the Americans, the Iranians, the Russians, members of the EU, Saudis, and the rest of the major power have been exploiting these same divisions and rivalries. The reason that ISIS exists is the same reason that Syria cannot have a long-term peace settlement. Iran hates Sunni Arabs, and Sunni Arabs hate Shiite Muslims. Turks have a problem with the Kurds, and the Kurds have a problem with the Turks. The Russians are telling the world that they are bombing ISIS, but they are bombing the opposite groups who fight against ISIS and against the Assad regime. Obama wants ISIS is go because it has made him look bad. Shiites want to be dominant in Syria post-Assad, and Sunnis want to be the dominant power. President Obama‘s biggest mistake was pulling out of Iraq and letting Iran, its Shiite devotees, and Russians have their way with the country, not having the US help the Kurds in Iraq.
The Obama peace process has no way to work because his administration wants to have some control of power in Syria. What is happening in Syria is that these groups on the list find an angry minority, arm and train them, and grin at the carnage. That is why the Kurds are the largest minority in the region but do not have their own independent states because the major powers in the area have always used them as a card. Now Russia is angry at Turkey because Turkey shot down their warplane, so they are arming the Kurds to fight against Turkey. In turn, Turkey will arm Chechens to start suicide bombings in Russia. ISIS is not a threat to Russia, but the Saudis, Turks, and Qataris, however, are the threat to Russian interests and are fighting their militants. The major players could care less about human rights or justice; it is all about destabilizing neighbors by exploiting their internal divisions. It is how the Arabs, Turks, and Persians prevent Kurds from having their own independent state by pitting Kurds against each other. Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and most of the Sunni countries see Iran as the biggest threat to them, even more than ISIS. That is why ISIS is not actually a priority for anyone, but everybody is accusing each other of sponsoring ISIS.
America’s abandonment of world leadership has made the Russian Mafia Putin in charge of running world affairs. America should think seriously about its foreign policy. Can the next President take ownership from Putin? I was hoping for a restoration of American leadership if the Republicans won the next election. Now I have no hope for the next President because America will have another Obama foreign policy led by Hillary Clinton. If she is elected to succeed him, she will follow in his footsteps. On the Republican side, things are not encouraging either. Republicans are deeply divided over what alternative foreign policy they would adopt. Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency voted to close its investigation of Iran’s nuclear program. As far as the UN ‘s nuclear watchdog is concerned, Iran is good to go. Turkey and Qatar announced that Turkey is setting up a permanent military base in the Persian Gulf Emirate. But developments in the past six months indicate that Russia is now in a position to become the strongest player in terms of influencing the unfolded developments in Syria. Therefore, the main power players for dominance in Syria are Turkey, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the USA, and the EU, but they are not there to help the Syrian people but instead are fighting to rule Syria.
Syria’s problem is very complicated and built in. Turkish Government refused to enforce American power on the ground; Turkey encountered a serious of problems with the United States. The train and equipped programs was failed, U.S support for Kurdish group such as PYD forces and the United States unwillingness to help create a safe zone in Northern Syria. Obama administration have even took advantage of the crisis that emerged after Turkey shot down a Russian jet to pressure Turkey into closer Cooperation with NATO to prevent Turkey’s unilateral moves such as the troop deployment to Mosul, Iraq.The only way to have peace in Syria is to redraw the map of Syria along ethnic and religious lines, such as dividing it into the Kurdish region, the Arab Region and the Alewi Region. The same solution would apply for Iraq too: the Sunni Arabs, the Kurds, and the Shiites. I have heard many of my fellow Western intellectuals make comments that ISIS wants to divide us. But they fail to understand the West did not create these divisions or ISIS. Islam did. When Mohammed the founder of Islam died, Islam died with him because his followers have been fighting for power since then and are even today. If the Sunni and Shiite Muslims have not been able to live together since the seventh century, what are the odds that they will learn to live together from now on? Therefore, neither the West nor the US created Muslim xenophobia. The Western nations and the US did not create the tribalism or the sectarianism that are tearing Iraq and Syria apart. People in Iraq and Syria are killing each other because of different theologies as a result of Islam’s long history of settling theological disputes between Sunnis and Shiites. ISIS is a symptom of the problem that continues today.
Currently Islam is facing a massive public relations disaster. There is an unnamed world war going on in the Middle East. ISIS continues to produce carnage in the region. Muslims must confront the totalitarian ideology that animates it and other terror groups. Every terrorist act carried out in the name of Islam directly affects all Muslims and alienates them from other people. It is Muslims’ responsibility to do whatever is possible to prevent this virus from metastasizing in our communities. If Muslims fail to speak out against the acts, they will be partially responsible for the smeared image of their faith. Muslim leaders must publicly advocate and promote human rights, dignity, life, and liberty. Terrorism is a multifaceted problem, so the solutions should also be multifaceted to address the social, political, economical and religious causes. I do not think the world powers are willing to solve the terrorism problem or to help the needy people; they are all greedy, desiring only to help themselves and being concerned about themselves and how they can take control of the situation. The way to defeat ISIS is by solving the root causes of the problem. But the root causes of problem are not unemployment, poverty, or anything else but the history of Islam. If the West or President Obama find the way to bring Sunnis and Shiites together, they can solve the problem in Syria. In the meantime, their policies make Syria much worse.
Dr. Aland Mizell is President of the MCI and a regular contributor to Mindanao Times. You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com
