Tuesday, August 19, 2014

USA launches its airpower against ISIS! Anyone complaining?

I regularly give some stick to the USA re its actions in various regions of the world. I have railed against it over-reaching military and other influences throughout the world. I have accused the military/industrial complex as being the only winner in many of these ‘adventures,’ and no doubt have made some USA supporters angry. I do however support some of the actions taken by the USA in recent days re its attempt to stop the expanding military invasion of parts of Iraq and probably Syria because no one else seems to be willing to help those dispossessed and r=targeted groups who are feeling their homes, many of which have been destroyed. I also accept that there may well be other reasons, for the actions of the USA that drive this action, mainly that of its own influence in the region and access to oil! BUT---there is no doubt that this mediaeval group that goes under various names is creating human suffering on a massive scale. They seem to be attempting to wipe out religions groups who do not conform to their narrow interpretation of ‘faith,’ and what we are seeing is nothing short of ‘ethnic cleansing. The Kurds were their only impediment to their overall plan! However, even the Kurds were facing defeat as the ISIS forces gained weapons from other sources and those they captured from an Iraqi army that did not seem to be too keen to be involved in defending their nation. Now that the USA has launched airstrikes against this dessert foe, fortunes are reversing and the Kurd fighters are beginning to push back the enemy, one that is almost at the gates of Bagdad. Whilst not trusting the USA totally, I accept that if it were not for their actions, then we would soon be witnessing a total annihilation of the Kurds and many other religious and ethnic minorities. Now that the former PM of Iraq has gone, there is a tiny ray of hope that the new PM can bring together the forces who would oppose the plans of ISIS and rebuild Iraq, but those hopes are much tinged with cynicism, given past history. We do not want to see the USA and its allies being drawn in to yet another protracted war in this region. Local forces must find their own solutions but that must also start by them ‘talking to one another to find a common cause—a strong and if possible, united Iraq. The model? ----One that works for Iraq, not one imposed by ‘western desires;’ ones that ultimately serve the interests of the latter. So, keep helping the Kurds, USA but do so with extreme caution.

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