No one wants to be at war. But the barbaric animals who fancy themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria must be stopped. We cannot stand by as they murder Christians and Jews, behead journalists, throw children off cliffs, rape and enslave women and mass execute whichever demographic they don’t like.
No one wants to be at war. But the barbaric animals who fancy themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria must be stopped. We cannot stand by as they murder Christians and Jews, behead journalists, throw children off cliffs, rape and enslave women and mass execute whichever demographic they don’t like.
We cannot let terrorists control a substantial chunk of the Middle East, and build a base from which to attack their two stated enemies — Israel and the United States.
President Barack Obama wants to sound as if he finally grasps the magnitude of this threat, which wasn’t clear before he delivered a tough-talking speech Wednesday night that more than one pundit characterized as a foreign policy “do over” or, in golf talk, a “mulligan.”
We hope this isn’t just talk and that it’s not too little too late — an insufficient plan intended to buy time. Even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken and other liberal Democrats have asked the president to get tougher on ISIS.
Obama’s speech promised an American-led coalition effort to degrade and destroy ISIS with a series of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. We will draw on “substantial” counterterrorism resources and provide humanitarian aid to victims in the region. We will arm Syrian rebels to provide ground support — a move the president called “fantasy” one month ago when he conceded no real plan to contend with ISIS.
“This idea that we could provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth, and that they were going to be able to battle not only a well-armed state but also a well-armed state backed by Russia, backed by Iran, a battle-hardened Hezbollah, that was never in the cards,” Obama said in August.
Today, it’s a major element of the president’s plan.
As of today, the coalition consists of nine U.S. allies, none of which has committed serious military might. By contrast, President George W. Bush and both chambers of Congress had at least 36 participating allies going into Iraq.
Whether Obama has enough credibility around the globe to substantially grow the coalition remains to be seen. Let’s hope he does.
The civilized world will also wait to see whether Obama’s speech translates into action and a commitment to save the Middle East from a growing terroristic caliphate controlling a region the size of Belgium. Left without serious opposition, ISIS may quickly gain traction throughout the Levant region of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, southern Turkey and beyond.
Commenting on the speech, retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters said, “I don’t think his goal is to defeat the Islamic Caliphate” but to “kick the can down the road for the next president.”
Other military strategists also questioned the president’s resolve to do whatever necessary to knock back what could become a threat far beyond the Middle East.
Radical Islam has flourished since the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Wednesday’s speech should be the catalyst for Obama to devote the remainder of his presidency to ensuring world peace by leading a serious coalition battle to end the caliphate and stabilize Syria and Iraq.
Mr. President and members of Congress, don’t do this halfway. Do what it takes to bring these terrorists down. When forced to fight wars, we must commit to win.
— From the Colorado Springs Gazette