OPINION_ Nanda: Looking ahead in Iraq, Syria

THE DENVER POST
OPINION

Opinion Nanda: Looking ahead in Iraq, Syria
By Ved Nanda

Posted: 05/30/2015 05:00:00 PM MDT



Burnt out cars are seen as investigators collect evidence, in the aftermath of a suicide bomb outside the the Imam Hussein mosque in the port city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Friday.(Saudi Television via The Associated Press)

Following the recent capture of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in Iraq, and the strategically important ancient city of Palmyra in Syria by the Islamic State, President Obama's strategy has come under roaring criticism.

Is there in fact a strategy? Is it working? What more needs to be done to degrade and defeat the Islamic State and, assuming that it is done, what is the follow-up?

Supporters of the administration insist that the current policy is sound: no American boots on the ground, American military personnel only to advise and train the Iraqi military forces, and it is for the Iraqis to fight for their country.

President Obama called the fall of Ramadi a "tactical setback." And he asserted: "I don't think we're losing." However, the administration is rethinking its strategy by expediting and enhancing its military assistance to the Iraqi security forces. It is sending 1,000 anti-tank rockets, intensifying air strikes, and expanding the shipments of military equipment as well.

Currently, the U.S. military personnel in Iraq number about 3,000. And although several Republican presidential candidates and others are calling for a more robust presence of American forces in Iraq, there is no appetite in the U.S. electorate for re-sending combat troops there. When Obama sought congressional authorization for military intervention last February, his time frame was for three years to degrade the Islamic State. The realization now is that it may take much longer than that.

In Iraq, the long-lasting Shiite-Sunni divide presents a major difficulty for the U.S. The majority Sunni Anbar province is a case in point. Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's blatantly partisan policies have alienated the Sunnis, causing distrust and even a grudging support for the Islamic State among many. And the Sunnis deeply resent the presence of Iran-supported Shiite militias, on whom the current prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, heavily relies to counter the Islamic State offensive.

The support of Sunni tribes, on whom the U.S. had relied earlier to fight al-Qaeda, is a prerequisite for reclaiming Ramadi and the Anbar province.

Syria presents an even more difficult situation. After the fall of Palmyra, with the Islamic State capturing more territory in Syria, there is no denying that the U.S. faces a dilemma. American airstrikes on Islamic State positions implicitly support the Assad regime, which the Obama administration has repeatedly asserted must go. Arming the "moderate" opposition forces in Syria has proven to be futile, and the outcome is one of no clear strategy.

After the huge setbacks that the Islamic State suffered with its defeat in Kobani, Syria, last summer, and its withdrawal from territory it had captured in northern Iraq as Kurdish Peshmerga fighters rallied to push it back, the Obama administration declared the terrorist group to be on the defensive. But the Islamic State has regrouped and shown its military capability in recent victories both in Iraq and Syria.

When the Islamic State is eventually defeated, the West needs a strategy for the region. Reforms must occur if the region is to be stable. Managing the main divide — between Shias and Sunnis — will have to come from within the region. The U.S. needs to be prepared with a long-term plan and adequate budget to address the underlying needs and problems of the region.

Ved P. Nanda (vnanda@law.du. edu) is director of the Ved Nanda Center for International Law at the University of Denver.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by e-mail or mail.

***


Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc . 
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị . 



conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
31052015
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là ĐỒNG LÕA với TỘI ÁC