How to destroy ISIS?

December 2015

To fight and destroy a phenomenon we must first find its source, and in what circumstances it has been formed and grown. Afterwards we must take out the conditions that have allowed the rise and growth of this phenomenon, and literally uproot it entirely. Otherwise like Western countries we will be engulfed in confusion in our positions and actions, allowing the mentioned phenomenon grow even further.

The first question is how was ISIS formed? In this piece I don’t want to get in to an in-depth description in this regard because we have provided details in previous articles. In short, on one hand the crimes committed by Iran’s terrorist Quds Force, the regimes of Bashar Assad, Maliki and Iran’s militia groups in Syria and Iraq, have all prepared the grounds for the rise of ISIS.

Iran’s recent defeats in Syria have forced Tehran – hoping billions of its frozen assets will be released after the nuclear deal – to promise huge financial incentives to Russia, which itself is engulfed in a financial crisis, to enter the war in Syria that has so far led to even more crimes on the ground.

Currently more than 5,000 Revolutionary Guards special forces are present in Syria. Furthermore militia groups linked to Iran, either from Lebanon or Iraq, or the so-called Fatemioon from Afghanistan and Pakistan, totaling around 30,000 troops are essentially based in south of Aleppo and some of them around Latakia.

As we have seen in recent weeks in the news, Tehran’s casualties in Syria have become very significant. Iran has only announced the names of 11 IRGC generals who have been killed in recent weeks in Syria. Hossein Hamedani was the most important of such figures, as he was Iran’s point man on the ground in Syria and commanding the regime’s forces and proxies. On the other hand Tehran said 80 members of the IRGC and Bassij militias killed in Syria have been buried during the past few weeks in the city of Qom alone. The total number of the regime’s casualties, from the IRGC and its proxies in Syria, has topped the 2,500 mark.

What took place in Paris and the horrific crime that left 130 innocent people murdered in the “city of lights” changed the political balance of power in Syria. Afterwards we witnessed the positions taken by the West focusing on destroying ISIS. This was something new, yet the reason behind this piece is that when such a high number of human beings are killed in Paris it is obvious that it will be followed with a strong response against ISIS. However, the question is that how can ISIS be destroyed and get rid of this global dilemma?

As ISIS gained control over Mosul and widespread areas in northern Iraq and Syria, and after these criminal attacks by ISIS against innocent people, a coalition was formed focusing on attacking ISIS. However, professional politicians who are quite familiar with the situation on the ground in Iraq and Syria are saying that ISIS is a criminal and terrorist phenomenon. However, what is important is that this entity cannot be destroyed without its roots being dried and uprooted.

These grounds are the same countless crimes committed by the Assad regime in Syria, murdering hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, and on the other hand Maliki’s crimes in Iraq against the Sunni community in this country. Both Assad and Maliki continue to enjoy support from Iran.

Following the events in Paris once again this equation changed somewhat and we saw how France focused on the overthrow of Bashar Assad and changed its position somewhat, saying our first enemy. However, little by little it appears that this temporary status changed and we are now hearing from politicians and decision making entities in the U.S. and Europe, and across the Middle East, more than ever speaking of the necessity to rid Syria of Bashar Assad, and especially the cruelty imposed on the Iraqi people, as preconditions of ridding the region of ISIS.

In the United States, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has recently spoken strongly about this subject, saying there is no possibility of getting rid of ISIS without overthrowing Bashar Assad. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has gone one step further and emphasized on the need to focus on getting rid of Bashar Assad. He has also mentioned something totally new in the political culture in the U.S. and in his remarks with Fox News he said ISIS is the offspring of Maliki and Bashar Assad, whereas these two men released 2,500 dangerous prisoners in Iraq and Syria, and these prisoners formed the formed the first cells of ISIS. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Defense Minister Mohammad Bin Salman, in his interview with the New York Times, very importantly said ISIS is the offspring of the crimes of Maliki in Iraq and Bashar Assad in Syria. Both governments were backed by the regime ruling Iran. He says before the U.S. departed Iraq there was no such thing as ISIS. However, this whole equation that we are discussing today came about after U.S. forces departed this country and handed Iraq over to the Iranian regime ruled by the mullahs.

The first phase in the path to destroy ISIS is to evict Iran from Syria and Iraq; the second phase is to provide political and military support in the Arab and international stage for the democratic oppositions of Syria and Iraq. This is the sole solution to end the crisis of ISIS.