Bombing the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria will NOT resolve anything - rather, It will incite even more violence and hatred, threatening our own security in the process. Despite history showing this to be the case time and time again, it seems lessons have not been learnt. This self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate over the course of several months has committed acts of barbarity, promoted extremist ideals and presented itself as a threat to diplomacy in the Middle East. (It cannot be said often enough how much the Islamic State contradicts what is written in the Quran. They do not represent the vast majority of vibrant, peaceful Muslims). Innocents are slaughtered for a wide-range of misdemeanours, such as refusing to convert to their extremist views of Sunni Islam (Wahhabism) or refusing to adhere to their rule. Regardless of their origin it is imperative for us all to recognise and understand the main factors behind some who choose to fight alongside these groups, in the hope of preventing relatively small factions to flourish in future. These people are disillusioned with the society they are living in, having limited opportunities to achieve success academically and socially. This unfortunately renders them vulnerable to extremist figureheads who are ardent in using emotive feelings to aid their cause. The current conservative-led coalition, and many of its predecessors have failed to address this fundamental problem within society. The mainstream media would rather base their reports on prejudiced-fuelled, common sense assumption, rather than empirical facts and this has unfortunately caused a sharp rise in extremist Islamophobic points of view. So it can therefore be considered as a social problem, rather than the individual solely being easily manipulated (It must be noted that a small minority react in this way). If we really want to end this continuous cycle once and for all we must first come to terms with, and recognise, the wests culpability and complicity in what we are now are witnessing today. (They have links to Saudi Arabia, widely known orchestrator of Wahhabism, along with the United States and Israeli intelligence - C.I.A and Mossad respectively - who supported them financially and militarily). Prior to the 1920s, the Middle East was controlled/occupied by the Ottoman Empire. Once it collapsed, Britain took over much of the abdicated land (including Palestina) and through a series of mandates constructed by the league of nations, they created borders throughout the region. This caused segregation and division amongst the indiguous peoples throughout, and any previous tensions felt between religious sects (for e.g, Sunni and Shia) escalated into physical intimidation and violence. Of course, like any other location in the world, there are internal conflicts. Nonetheless the West externally worsened long-standing feuds to unprecedented proportions which has reached a whole new level in modern times. Secondly, there must be a policy shift. To make it simple, diplomacy must triumph over violence, even the threat of it. Nations such as the United States and Israel have in place foreign policies which aim to extend their power, influence and ideological dominance through colonisation and use of military force. Before entering any diplomatic discussions, the western establishment set pre-conditions which are expectingly rejected, leading to a failure to establish a consensus on specific issues. Revising the previously set mandates of the 1920s IMO are key to implementing a viable solution in the Middle East. To counter these extremist factions it cannot be through violence, but diplomacy - otherwise we face the prospect of living through similar situations for many more centuries to come. Revenue made from the extraction of natural resources will continue being used to fund illegal wars on foreign lands which will repeatedly produce the same outcome - more violence. Ultimately, whilst the population is strangulated by unnecessary public spending cuts, it will be the owners of arms corporations who will continue to fatten their wallets.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 20:57:36 +0000
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