[February 16, 2015] There have been a number of recent proposals for a strategy to “degrade and defeat” the terrorist group ISIS and, as well, considerable criticism of the U.S. lack of any clear strategy or leadership. While this generates valuable discussion, most of these lack a comprehensive (or grand) strategy for doing so … perhaps purposefully.
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The question to ask is whether ISIS1 is a threat to the national interests of the United States. U.S. President Obama said the answer is “yes.” That should be the end of any legitimate debate. There should be no attempt to reinterpret what he meant by his own staff members or by Congress. Any shading of the meaning does a great disservice to the president, the U.S., and its allies.
The next step in the development of a strategy is to openly discuss it. Most commentary about a strategy focuses on a comprehensive approach to the Middle East involving some form of coalition and unity of purpose. Many of these have the same end-state; the defeat of ISIS. Some, like the U.S. official strategy (as best as can be determined) is more about the “containment” of ISIS and an acknowledgement this is a generational, long-term struggle with “strategic patience.” While both of these have merit, each fails to provide a full accounting of the future and a holistic approach to destroy ISIS and to prevent a similar organization from appearing.
In Part 1 of this three-part series, are four requisites of a strategy that is required for it to be successful:
- The Shia-Sunni- divide must be addressed and, importantly, we must neither pick a side nor appear to choose sides. This is an ancient conflict and what the U.S. does, and the Western world, can only inflame the situation.
- Western nations must properly address the increasing immigration of Islamic peoples into their nations. With an open and free media/press, the world sees how we treat people. Rightly or wrongly, everyone sees Islamophobia and the fear it generates.
- Instability, violence, and intolerance are a sad part of Middle East history and culture. Do not expect it to go away or subside in the near-term and just about everybody is to blame. However, the West should be committed to helping with those things that the region does well in the economic, social, and historical sphere.
- The U.S. and the West must include how the fight goes within our nation-state borders. We should, for example, have a plan to deal with U.S. citizens who fight with or support ISIS, how we address immigration and border security, and realistic policies addressing Islamic extremism.
In Part 2, we will address an additional four measures that must be included in a successful grand strategy to defeat ISIS.
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[1] The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or, perhaps, more accurately just the Islamic State, is a relatively new extremely violent Islamic terrorist organization. More information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant