Our Politics

Tag: isis

  • OurWeek in Politics (12/9-12/16/17)

    Here Are the main events in Politics that occurred this week:

    1. Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Special Election Race

    Democratic candidate Doug Jones won a major victory in the Alabama Special Senate Election this week, becoming the first Democrat to represent the state in over 20 years.

    In a major upset, Democratic candidate and former federal prosecutor Doug Jones won the Alabama Special Senate Election on December 12 after a campaign that showcased the increasing power of sexual misconduct allegations and the limits of President Donald Trump’s political influence even in states that he still remains popular in. Jones’s victory in a state that has not had a Democratic Senator since 1996 was a dramatic repudiation of both his opponent, Roy Moore, a controversial former state judge twice who is accused of molesting several women between the late 1970s and early 1990s, as well as the policies and proposals of President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress. In his victory speech, Jones stated that the “entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about the rule of law. This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency and making sure everyone in this state, regardless of what zip code you live in, is going to get a fair shake.” Additionally, Jones went on to send a message to his colleagues in Washington, urging them to “get things done for the people” by passing the Children’s Health Insurance Program as well as voting against the Trump Administration tax plan.

    Despite his overwhelming rejection by the voters of Alabama, Republican candidate Roy Moore has yet to concede, accusing the Democratic Party of vote rigging and has announced that his campaign would be seeking a recount. The election of Doug Jones as Senator from one of the most conservative states in the entire country signals both a wholesale rejection of the policies of the Trump Administration by even his most hardcore and loyal supporters as well as a foreshadowing of the results of the 2018 midterm elections. Additionally, the election of Doug Jones perhaps is a sign that the Democratic Party can regain much of the ground that they lost in the Southern states over the past 50 years by campaigning with a positive and inclusive message, as well as de-emphasizing divisive social issues and instead focusing more on addressing economic issues that negatively impact the working class.

    2. US Ready for Direct Talks With North Korea

    Secretary of State Rex Tillerson indicated this week that the US is willing to meet with North Korea to discuss its nuclear program without pre-conditions.

    On December 12, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that the US is ready to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions, backing away from a key demand that Pyongyang must first accept that giving up its nuclear arsenal would be part of any negotiations. While reiterating the long-standing position that the US views the North Korea nuclear program as a major national security threat, Tillerson said the United States was “ready to talk anytime they’re ready to talk”, but there would first have to be a “period of quiet” without any nuclear and missile tests. The new diplomatic overture on the part of the US comes two weeks after North Korea said it successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that put the entire US mainland within range of a potential nuclear strike.

    Overall, the international community has applauded Secretary of State Tillerson’s offer. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that the Chinese government welcomed all efforts to ease tension and promote dialogue to peacefully resolve the problem of North Korea’s nuclear arms program. The Chinese government hopes the United States and North Korea can meet each other halfway and take meaningful steps on dialogue and contact, Kang told reporters. Additionally, China has expressed a willingness to work with both the US and South Korea to secure North Korean nuclear weapons in the event of a collapse of the government of North Korea. Despite strong support for these new diplomatic efforts by China, Japan has been critical of any engagement with North Korea, arguing that any efforts would play into the hands of the North Korean government and not lead to any constructive policy change. On the contrary, the Japanese government supports increasing the already crippling sanctions in place in North Korea to convince the regime to change its policies (despite the fact that history shows that sanctions have little to no effect in forcing policy change). Overall, it is too soon to tell of the renewed diplomatic efforts between the US and North Korea will lead to any lasting results, but they do represent a positive step forward on the part of the US in solving long-standing disputes peacefully.

    3. Iraq Proclaims Victory in the War Against ISIS 

    The government of Iraq announced that it has defeated ISIS after nearly three years of intense fighting with the violent extremist group.

    On December 9, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced an end of the war against militant group Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and said that Iraqi forces had regained full control of the country’s border with Syria. “Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I, therefore, announce the end of the war against Daesh” (Arabic for “ISIS”), Abadi said at a press conference in Baghdad.  “Dear Iraqis, your land has been completely liberated, and your towns and villages have been returned to the homeland,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a press conference in Baghdad. “The dream of liberation became a reality.” The victory came after the military shifted its focus to rout out militants in the border areas between Iraq and Syria. “Our forces fully control the Iraqi-Syrian border, and thus we can announce the end of the war against Daesh,” Abadi said.

    After Abadi’s announcement, the Iraqi government declared Sunday a national holiday to celebrate the victory that was celebrated by the US and several of Iraq’s major allies such as Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah. The US government and President Donald Trump offered its “sincere congratulations to the Iraqi people and to the brave Iraqi Security Forces, many of whom lost their lives heroically fighting ISIS. Additionally, UK Prime Minister Theresa May also congratulated Iraq but warned the threat is far from over. Despite the fact that major combat operations in Iraq have ended, the threat of violent extremist from the remnants of ISIS and other militant groups remains. Additionally, Iraq will continue to face a massive reconstruction effort over the next decade in order to help rebuild itself after nearly four decades of continuous warfare, chaos, and brutal authoritarianism.

  • Another Misguided Video on ISIS and Middle East History

    Another Misguided Video on ISIS and Middle East History

     


    Kurzgesagt (YouTube Channel) – In a Nutshell –

    You are good at many things. But please stay away from Foreign Policy. The US invaded Iraq to gain strategic control of oil supplies. This much is certain and has been stated over the last 50 years. The key interest of the US in the region is to gain control of oil supplies. You also left out how the country of Iraq was created by the British after World War I. The British split up Iraq in a way to put the minority Sunni in power over the majority Shi’a populations. This is just one of many examples of how Imperialism works.

    You also talk about Assad starting the war; that is untrue. Much like with Iraq, Syria was divided by the British and the French as a way to place the minority Shi’a in power over the majority Sunni populations within the country. The US supported protests in the country as a way to foster regime change. As a result of their support of opposition groups, terrorists flooded Syria during the time period creating more problems and more terrorism. The US has supported these “groups” to destabilize the region to put someone they favor in power.

    The US is also making a killer profit on weapon sales. The US killed somewhere around 800,000 civilians in its invasion of Iraq in 2003, but somehow no mention in the video, must not be important. ISIS is an organization that has received weapons and training from the US and Saudi Arabia (among other countries) to overthrow Assad.

    The idea of US withdrawal from Iraq is a common misconception. The US had a treaty that said it would leave Iraq at a certain time. Many of these troops did not withdraw but were instead redeployed to Afghanistan, located between Iran and Pakistan. Many of the arms the US brought into Iraq went to insurgent groups, freedom fighters, terrorists (whatever you want to call them).

    Stop supporting state propaganda and instead mention correct facts in this post-fact era.

    Stop selling weapons, stop derailing peace, and stay out of other people’s regions.

    Supplemental material

    British Intelligence Warned Tony Blair of Manchester-Like Terrorism if the West Invaded Iraq



    Academic paper on Afghanistan
    Who Rules the World by Noam Chomsky
    Indefensible 7th Myths of the by Paul Holden
    War is A Racket by Smedley Butler

  • ISIS: How and Where they Came From

    ISIS: How and Where they Came From

    One major foreign policy issue facing the world over the past few years is the rise of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). ISIS is an anti-Western militant group whose goal is to establish an independent Islamic state. ISIS currently controls territory in both Iraq and Syria and is seeking to gain more territory throughout the Middle East. In the aftermath of the Iraq war, ISIS has taken advantage of regional instability and publically promoted itself online with graphic videos of threats and violence. The rise and spread of ISIS has further confounded policymakers with regards to their promoting stability in the Middle East. In recent years, there has been much debate at the highest levels of government over ways to combat ISIS and the reasons behind its creation and expansion. As with many other foreign policy issues, the debate over ways to fight ISIS has evoked debate on both sides, with some arguing for a more forceful response and others seeking to stay out of the conflict. The underlying reasons behind the rise of ISIS can be contributed to a number of factors such as the current instability in the Middle East, cultural and religious differences, and intervention in the region by western powers such as the U.S.

    The formation of ISIS can be traced back to 2004, when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi founded Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in response to the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. AQI played a major role in the Iraqi insurgency that followed. They reacted to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq with a variety of violent acts that resulted in the deaths of civilians and U.S. soldiers alike. Despite the fact that AQI was weakened after the death of al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike in 2006, the organization survived and a faction of AQI separated and began to rebrand itself. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over as head of this organization in 2010, changed its name to the Islamic State (IS) in 2011, and the group grew more violent as U.S. forces began to withdraw from Iraq.

    As the U.S. further withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011, IS began to expand its efforts into Syria to fight against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. In 2012, IS established the Al-Nusra Front, a satellite organization of IS headed by Abu Muhammad al-Julani, establishing a base for IS outside of Iraq. The expansion of efforts into Syria gave IS an opportunity to expand its ideology into a newer territory. In an attempt to prevent a rift between both organizations, al-Baghdadi unified Al-Nusra Front and IS in 2013. The name of the organization was then changed to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). However, al-Julani refused to align his group to al-Baghdadi and switched his allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. As a result of the rivalry between the two groups, Al-Zawahiri announced the unification (between ANF and IS) had been annulled as of June 2014. On January 3, 2014, al-Zawahiri announced he had severed all connections with ISIS. As a result, the disputes between ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front worsened, leading to violent clashes between both groups and further adding to instability in the two countries. As of today ISIS, Al-Nusra Front, and Al-Qaeda all operate in the region.

    One of the major underlying reasons behind ISIS’ rise is the instability of the Middle East. Historically, preexisting disputes in the region have been cultural and religious in nature and have only worsened with the addition of western intervention over the past century. One of the main religious disputes has been between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. This dispute causes tension and a desire for dominance in the region between countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two largest and most stable powers in the region. Saudi Arabia is predominantly Sunni, whereas Iran is primarily Shia. Interestingly enough, Iraq and Afghanistan, two unstable countries, have sizable populations of both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Furthermore, the recent escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict and debate over nuclear proliferation has stirred tension. In addition, the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has destabilized the country and made it a prime recruiting ground for ISIS.

    Another reason for ISIS’ creation is the Middle Eastern backlash against western intervention and foreign policy. After the discovery of oil reserves in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s, numerous western powers sought to gain a foothold in the region in order to meet their need for resources. With the increasing demand for oil, the U.S. began to assert its influence by supporting western-backed dictators in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In addition, the U.S. has intervened on numerous occasions in order to keep these leaders in power in order to preserve its own interests, such as supporting regime change and military action against leaders who reject U.S. goals and interests U.S. policy of intervention in the Middle East is manifested in the Carter Doctrine, which was laid forward by President Jimmy Carter in his 1980 State of the Union Address. The Carter Doctrine stated that the U.S. had the right to intervene in order to defend its interests in the Middle East, in particular, to ensure the access to oil. As a result of the Carter Doctrine, the Middle East became a focal point of U.S. foreign policy, resulting in increased anti-American sentiment throughout the region.

    The most notable example of the U.S. intervening in the Middle East occurred in Iran in 1953 through Operation Ajax. Operation Ajax was the CIA/Mossad backed a coup that removed Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, giving more power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran as an absolute monarch for the next 26 years, executing an estimated 160,000 political opponents, using secret police forces such as SAVAK to torture and intimidate regime opponents such as leftists and Islamists, and allowing little dissent against his rule. One of the major reasons behind the US/Israeli-backed coup was that Mossadegh sought to nationalize Iran’s oil production and use the profits to improve the lives of ordinary Iranians. This commandeering of its oil reserves did not align with U.S. interests. Operation Ajax is considered to be an important factor behind the 1979 Iranian Revolution and another reason Iran and the U.S. have a strained relationship today. This reaction to U.S. intervention resulted in heightened instability in the country, which allowed for the current Islamic Republic of Iran to take control. Similarly, the volatility derived from U.S. actions in Iraq and the Syrian Civil war has now promoted the recent rise of the similarly-titled “Islamic State” of Iraq and Syria.

    The main ideology of ISIS is based off Wahhabism, a form of Sunni Islam that follows a strict interpretation of the Quran and promotes violence against non-believers. ISIS’ primary goal is to establish an independent Islamic State in the Middle East and expand its influence into other parts of the world. In order to achieve these goals, ISIS uses several brutal methods, such as mass killings, beheadings and systematic cruelty against those who would challenge their actions, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In addition, ISIS promotes its goals through videos and social media sources, by which the group seeks to gain more recruits. ISIS justifies its actions through religion, as members feel that they have a moral obligation to kill whoever stands in the way of their establishing an independent Islamic State.

    ISIS has received funding from a variety of different sources. The main source is from oil smuggling on the Turkish border, through which ISIS sells oil from Syrian oil fields that it controls for as little as $25 per barrel. Another source of funding for ISIS comes from wealthy individuals in Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. These donors have long served as sources of funding for ISIS as well as for other violent anti-Western militia groups in the Middle East. Between all of those sources, U.S. officials estimate that ISIS is bringing in close to $1 Million per day in order to fund its operations.

    ISIS also relies on foreign fighters from a number of countries. Some 20,000 foreign nationals are currently fighting for ISIS in Iraq and Syria, with roughly 3,400 from Western countries. In addition, an increasing number of U.S. citizens are seeking to join ISIS. According to Congressman Michael McCaul of the House Homeland Security Committee, the number of U.S. citizens seeking to join ISIS this year is 150, up from only 50 last year. McCaul also stated that 18 Americans have already succeeded in joining ISIS and 18 others who have joined the similar Islamic terrorist groups. One of the members included is Douglas McAuthur McCain, a Californian who was killed in August while fighting alongside ISIS in Syria.

    There are several possible ways in which the international community can defeat ISIS and restore a sense of stability to the Middle East. At this point, a ground invasion of Syria and Iraq by US troops would only make matters worse because it would result in another major war in the Middle East and directly play into the goal that ISIS has of drawing Western powers into the conflict. One such option to fight ISIS would be for the core countries such as the US to change their economic policy towards the Middle East. If the Middle Eastern Countries become economically interdependent on the United States and each other, the beginning of trade would bring an end to the fighting, leading to increased stability. Stability in the region would help to defeat ISIS because ISIS needs the instability of the region to survive. Furthermore, another thing that would go a long way to help encourage more stability in the Middle East would be for the US and other Western powers to acknowledge their past instances of intervention in the Middle East. Doing so would increase the level of trust between them and the governments of many countries in the region and make them more willing to work to defeat extremism and terrorism. Additional options to fight ISIS include working with local governments in the Middle East in order to identify threats, identify funding for ISIS and similar groups and work to increase public understanding with regards to the reasons why ISIS was created and its stated goals and ideology.

    Works Cited:

    Cambanis, Thanassis. “The Carter Doctrine: A Middle East Strategy past Its Prime.” Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners LLC. 14 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

    Dassanayake, Dion. “Islamic State: What Is IS and Why Are They so Violent?” Express. Northern and Shell Media Publications, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

    Dehghan, Saeed Kamali, and Richard Norton-Taylor. “CIA Admits Role in 1953 Iranian Coup.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

    Dilanian, Ken. “US Intel: IS Militants Drawing Steady Stream of Recruits.” AP News. Associated Press, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 02 May 2015.

    Ghitis, Frida. “Why ISIS Is so Brutal.” CNN. Cable News Network, 3 Feb. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

    “ISIS: Portrait of a Jihadi Terrorist Organization.” The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, 26 Nov. 2014. Web. 02 May 2015.

    Reynolds, Ben. “Iran Didn’t Create ISIS; We Did.” The Diplomat. The Diplomat, 31 Aug. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

    Windrem, Robert. “Who’s Funding ISIS? Wealthy Gulf ‘Angel Investors,’ Officials Say.” NBC News. NBC News, 21 Sept. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.