Everyone feeling the heat
The international community is not doing nearly enough to contain the phenomenal rise of the Islamic State as the so-called caliphate continues to shock onlookers, analysts, and those suffering at its hands by its expansive momentum. US led bombings that were supposed to halt the militia’s advance have hardly dented al Baghdadi. And despite being in a state of fierce war in both Syria and Iraq, Da’ish continues to show a remarkable ability to take its fight to other corners of the world.
It has once again reset the equation in Syria just as Bashar al-Assad’s government had finally – with Iranian and Russian help, of course – managed to start winning back territory. It faces no problem holding on to territories captured in Iraq. It has made large recruitments in Afghanistan, where it has even begun a mini civil war with the Taliban. It has openly threatened India with an imminent incursion. In Pakistan, the government has done its best to deny its presence, yet there are growing signs it has been pretty active here too. And more recently, it has turned its attention to Egypt. Already divided since al Sisi overthrew Morsi’s government, IS’s deadly campaign has deepened religious and sectarian cleavages in a suffering society.
Still, a cohesive multi-national effort to counter IS’s rise is yet to emerge. Regional states are not very cooperative. Gulf states have played a large role in the rise of ISIS because of their obsession to bring down the government in Damascus and their rivalry with Iran. The US, too, has not committed itself fully. If it hadn’t been for the few American casualties at the hands of IS, perhaps Washington would have resisted calls for the air campaign even longer. Yet the longer the rest of the world takes to wake up to the real potency of Da’ish, the more of a fight it will have to put up eventually as the enemy’s footprint grows and everybody feels the heat.
