Controlling Da’ish

Need to act fast!

Da’ish’s burning to death of the captured Jordanian pilot marks a new low even for this decadent terrorist organisation. And since Amman has now decided to engage with al Baghdadi’s caliphate lock, stock, and barrel, the situation in the Middle East might change once again, adding to uncertainty building since the days of the Arab Spring first brought hope then despair to the region over the last four years. The Japanese, too, are out for revenge after two of their nationals were beheaded not long before the unfortunate Jordanian pilot was killed. There will now be more pressure on the west to alter its approach. So far its missiles have done nothing to halt or deter IS.

It is now clear that parts of Iraq and Syria now firmly under IS control are not reverting to their old state anytime soon. The so-called caliphate has erected a workable system in territories under its control; collecting taxes, running public utilities, but above all keeping entire populations firmly under its grip through sheer terror and intimidation. Reportedly, it is also making a windfall by selling oil under its control. That is where the role of some of the more heavyweight international powers becomes questionable. The Iranians and Russians have raised such concerns repeatedly. Tehran was paralysed by Washington’s sanctions, and unable to sell its oil in the international market. Moscow faced similar pressures after its friction with Washington. How is it, then, that a terrorist organisation is able to sell its crude at handsome profits?

Surely many capitals have much to gain, and lose, from this proxy war. Not long ago Washington was happy looking the other way as GCC petrodollars armed and funded extremist elements, including (reportedly) Jabhat al Nusra, al Qaeda’s Syria chapter, and the group from which IS engineered its coup. Indeed, it only – and reluctantly – green-lighted the bombings when its own citizens were captured and killed, and the issue became one of political compulsions. There is an urgent need to deal with IS; right now, before it grows yet stronger. And since it was America’s disastrous Iraq war that unplugged this particular genie, the west must shoulder more responsibility in dealing with it.