Paris attacks and need for global action against terrorism

The recent coordinated terror attacks on different
locations in Paris, France, by the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) have increased the need for a global action
against terrorism. About 129 people were killed while over
360 others were injured in the attacks. The attacks have
obviously demonstrated that ISIS has no scruples. Some
weeks back, it shot down a Russian plane in the Sinai
Peninsula that killed all the 224 people on board.
It had set off massive bombs in huge crowds in the city of
Beirut that killed nearly 40 people. Ten months ago, 17
people were killed in Paris by Islamists’ attack on Charlie
Hebdo’s offices.
Apart from having promptly claimed responsibility for the
dastardly attacks, ISIS has also warned the world of more
such attacks. Its threat to attack Washington DC should
not be ignored by the US authorities.
Many world leaders have condemned the horrific attacks
on Paris. While the French President, Francois Hollande,
described the attack on his country as “an act of war,” US
President, Barack Obama, defined the attack as an attack
on all humanity.
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has pledged to
join France in the war against the deadly Islamic group.
Russia has not only condemned the Paris attacks, it has
promised vengeance against the group that brought down
Russian plane in Sinai. The United Nations Security
Council has unequivocally condemned the attacks on
Paris and called on the world to unite against ISIS.
No doubt, the worldwide revulsion against the killings by
ISIS is not new. Sadly, such sentiments have not brought
any change in its behaviour. We urge the world not to let
the Paris killings be like others in the past that were easily
forgotten after the mourning.
ISIS is more than a collection of psychopaths. It is a
religious group with radical beliefs. It pretends to be the
agent of the coming apocalypse which perhaps accounts
for its obsession with bloodshed. Its control of territories
makes it worse than its precursor, al-Qaeda, which also
shares the same lust for blood.
We believe that the first step to defeating ISIS is to deny it
the control of any territory whatsoever in either Syria or
Iraq. And it must not be permitted any space in Libya or
Yemen.
There are today, at least, eleven nations conducting air
strikes against the Islamic State. They are the United
States, Russia, Britain, France, Canada, Australia,
Denmark, the Netherlands, Jordan, the United Arab
Emirates, and Iran.
We do not discount the fact that each air strike takes a toll
on the group, but it is clear even to the United States and
to Jordan that air campaigns, alone, are not enough.
There is need for ground forces against the terrorists. This
is a reality the Western nations should bear in mind. The
Iraqis have had mixed results; the Syrian military seems to
be picking up since the Russian air power assisted them.
There is no doubt that the world seems to have reached a
consensus to deal ruthlessly with ISIS. There are more
than enough aircraft carriers in the Gulf to decimate the
group.
That is why even after Hollande would have met Putin in
the Kremlin and Obama in Washington, the coalition must
make every effort to persuade and support an Arab
interventionist force. The Turks seem disposed to such
intervention. Jordan, Saudi Arabia and UAE are also
interested. If everything fails, the coalition should
strengthen the Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian forces with US,
French and Russian advisers. The Americans have proved
that this strategy can work.
However, the sour point has been the political future of
Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, in view of the
irreconcilable differences between Russia and the United
States.
We suggest that the first priority of the coalition ought to
be the elimination of ISIS through denying it all territory. In
other words, the coalition should make the political future
of Syria the second priority, which can be negotiated after
ISIS has been crushed.
Unless such definitive priorities are set, the coalition would
expend too much time and effort only to prolong the
existence of a despicable scourge. Beyond these, the
world must unite and rise against the group and other
terrorists.