The Long Road Ahead

Over the period of the last two weeks Secretary of State John Kerry has been traveling all over the Middle East as the United States seeks to form a coalition of countries to rise up and face the Islamic State. An article by Michael R. Gordon published in the New York Times on September 14^th, 2014 has stated that due to Mr. Kerry’s efforts, ten Arab countries have signed on to join the fight against ISIS. Several of the ten countries have committed to directly assisting in the military efforts against the terrorist organization with many of them even promising to conduct airstrikes of their own. When President Obama gave his speech last Wednesday announcing a broadening of American efforts and a larger scale offensive that would be conducted by the USA, it was unknown how many countries would consent to participate. Since then, Secretary Kerry has been all over Europe and the Middle East rallying support for this newly established coalition with the hope that ISIS can be eliminated through a multinational military campaign.

While many Western Europeans have signed on to take part in this new offensive, their level of commitment remains questionable. The scope of contribution is not very well defined as some countries such as Germany do not want their military involved at all. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that while Germany would be willing to help arm opposition forces, it would not conduct airstrikes of its own, nor would it be willing to put German boots on the ground. However, France’s president, Francois Hollande, stated that they would be willing to conduct airstrikes, but only on the Iraqi side. The United States government has stated that there are many different methods to contribute, from simply training or arming opposition forces, to conducting targeted airstrikes through military force. Although the US has seen growing support and willingness to participate from other Western nations, it is a relief to hear that these 10 Arab States have now signed on as well.

Having countries from the same region willing to participate in the alliance against the Islamic State will provide an advantage for the United States and its western allies. These countries know the region more than we do and have a much better understanding of the culture, the politics, and the driving forces. With their support we will be in an improved position to attack and ultimately destroy ISIS. These countries are very close to the land the Islamic State currently holds so the first logical step would be having the surrounding countries prevent any further land grabs. If we can surround them and stop their territorial growth then I believe we will be able to eliminate them much faster.

The new Iraqi government has been warmly welcoming any aid from other countries willing to give it. Their own military is substantially small, not very well trained, and loosely organized. It is likely that without arms and aid from friendly countries, the Iraqi forces would soon see defeat from the growing ISIS force. On the other side of the border the Syrians have been questionable to say the least. President Al Assad initially warned foreign countries from conducting airstrikes on Syrian soil so there remains the possibility that Syrian forces could shoot at American aircraft which would result in retaliation and further complication of the situation. This threat has made many countries refuse to conduct airstrikes on the Syrian side of the IS territory which could ultimately slow the takedown of the Islamic state. Despite the fact that the United States has a growing amount of foreign support for embarking on this mission, there is still much that needs to be figured out as well as a lot of organization that needs to take place. President Obama has stated that he believes this conflict will surpass his presidency and likely consume the next presidency and possibly the one after that as well. Even though we won’t walk it alone, the United States has a long road ahead.

Gordon, Michael. "Arab Nations Offer to Conduct Airstrikes Against ISIS, U.S. Officials Say." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Sept. 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.