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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNoam Chomsky: US Policy Birthed ISIS and Now Undermines the Fight Against It
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/28869-noam-chomsky-us-policy-birthed-isis-and-now-undermines-the-fight-against-itPatrick Cockburn, who has done by far the best reporting on this, describes it as an Alice in Wonderland strategy. The U.S. wants to destroy ISIS, but its opposing every force thats fighting ISIS. So, the main state thats opposed to ISIS is Iran. They support the Iraqi government, the Shiite government. But Iran is, you know, on our enemies list. Probably the main ground forces fighting ISIS are the PKK and its allies, which are on the U.S. terrorist list. Thats both in Iraq and in Syria. Saudi Arabia, our major ally, along with Israel, is both traditionally, for a long time, the main funder of ISIS and similar groupsnot necessarily the government; rich Saudis, other people in the emiratesnot only the funder, but theyre the ideological source. Saudi Arabia is committed, is dominated by an extremist fundamentalist version of Islam: Wahhabi doctrine. And ISIS is an extremist offshoot of the Wahhabi doctrine. Saudi Arabia is a missionary state. It establishes schools, mosques, spreading its radical Islamic version. So, theyre our ally. Our enemies are those who are fighting ISIS. And its more complex.
ISIS is a monstrosity. Theres not much doubt about that. It didnt come from nowhere. Its one of the results of the U.S. hitting a very vulnerable societyIraqwith a sledgehammer, which elicited sectarian conflicts that had not existed. They became very violent. The U.S. violence made it worse. Were all familiar with the crimes. Out of this came lots of violent, murderous forces. ISIS is one. But the Shiite militias are not that different. Theyre carrying outtheyre the kind of thewhen they say the Iraqi army is attacking, its probably mostly the Shiite militias with the Iraqi army in the background. I mean, the way the Iraqi army collapsed is an astonishing military fact. This is an army of, I think, 350,000 people, heavily armed by the United States and trained by the United States for 10 years. A couple of thousand guerrillas showed up, and they all ran away. The generals ran away first. And the soldiers didnt know to do. They ran away after them
madville
(7,412 posts)There will never be peace in that region, the various Muslim/Arab groups all hate each other and they all collectively hate Israel and the West, been going on since the beginning and will until the end.
ISIS gets crushed, a new bogeyman will fill the void. The only real way to govern that region is to have dictator-like strongman leaders who immediately crush any opposition. Looking back, the era that had Sadaam, Ghadaffi, and Assad firmly in control of their countries seems relatively peaceful when compared to the current situation.
eridani
(51,907 posts)madville
(7,412 posts)ISIS is pretty much going around executing the minority and Christian sects in those areas now, areas they had lived in for centuries previously.
Turbineguy
(37,383 posts)we get the actual perpetrators and their supporters off the hook.