The American right gone wrong

Evin Cheikosman

By Evin Cheikosman:

The war in Syria officially began in 2011 but the elements that incited public discontent were long brewing at the stove. From 2011 onward we have seen the evil in humanity and the self gratifying proxy wars manufactured by the herculeanesque powers “up above;” these proxy wars range from Iran vs. Saudi, Sunni vs. Shiite, and the inter-Islamic identity dispute- all of which have contributed to the death, destruction, and homelessness of Syrians. The United States has proven disappointing in responding to the political unrest and has in many ways only alluded to exacerbating the issue. The international public as well has grown oblivious to the screams for help echoing from the basements, tents, and streets where Syrian refugees now live; which according to UNHCR numbers to more than three million people. It is shocking the amount of indifference so evident in the words and actions of those who carry the political responsibility for the millions of displaced persons whose homes are being blown up and whose lives are endangered.  Our public officials, it seems, have accepted these consequences of their inaction as pure normalcy; welcoming a foreign policy that is everyday more isolationist, oblivious, and nonsensical.

The United States, the Zeus of this herculean pack, has always enforced the sort of foreign policy that points out the “wrongs” in a country of tactical interest and then through military might first, turns that wrong into an American right. Indeed still relevant today; however, in comparison to post- cold war U.S. foreign policy when there was more of an effort to promptly address pressing issues, in post-9/11 foreign policy, we have seen an adaptation to the “sit and wait” method, allowing urgent problems to accumulate and worsen. Likewise our public officials have also come to embrace the use of air power and rather questionable ground-force support to “defeat” Daesh. A noble quest, however unlike video games where you shoot the bad guy and be done with it, the U.S.- or any nation for that matter- cannot simply “exterminate” Daesh (AKA ISIS) and expect that problem to be resolved. There will always be another “Daesh” fighting in the name of vengeance, retribution, and a distorted spiritual ideology – after all, wasn’t Daesh once an affiliate of Al-Qaeda? And even more, is there not another terror group emerging in the midst known as Khorasan?

The point is that the Obama administration, despite having done its share of exceptional work, its foreign policy has taken a short term approach to a high-priority problem that desperately necessitates stable, long term solutions. In addition, with U.S. presidential elections creeping closer, it really puts Obama’s “do half” approach into context; it’s rather obvious that he has chosen to do just enough to address the conflict in Syria so as to avoid taking the big risks, but not bothering to create concrete ways in which the conflict could be resolved.

Granted trying to come up with solutions to the largest humanitarian disaster of the post-cold war era is a hefty challenge and will take time. However when you have a death toll of more than 191.000 people due to this conflict, three million displaced Syrians flooding neighboring countries, and a brutal terrorist group (Daesh) of about 31.000 fighters with goals to break the borders of Syria and Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, and to free Palestine; an aerial campaign and a billion dollar investment in training the fractured Free Syrian Army (they are still relevant? Really?) will not defeat the bad guys and as Kurdish Peshmerga affirmed, certainly won’t help the good guys. Need more proof? Well take a look at the air strikes in the latest Gaza war, is it working?

According to Idris Nassan, a senior spokesman for the Kurdish fighters: “[a]ir strikes alone are really not enough to defeat ISIS in Kobane…they are besieging the city on three sides, and fighter jets simply cannot hit each and every ISIS fighter on the ground.”Mr. Nassan went on to stress that, according to sources, “ISIS had adapted its tactics to military strikes from the air…Each time a jet approaches, they leave their open positions, they scatter and hide. What we really need is ground support. We need heavy weapons and ammunition in order to fend them off and defeat them.” Indeed the Kurdish Peshmerga is not the only critics of Mr. Obama’s short term military strategy; others include South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and the former chief of the defense staff General Sir David Richards who, among others, have spoken openly about their disagreement with Obama’s “bombardment campaign”- especially in regards to helping Peshmerga fight Daesh.

The latest fighting between the 2.000 to 3.000 Peshmerga forces and the Daesh group took place this past Saturday until late Monday morning with Daesh trying hard to attack the strategic town of Kobane; managing to fire at least ten rockets at the town. According to sources, at least 16 Daesh fighters were killed.  Kobane is under assault, and Kurds are calling desperately to the international community to help them defend Kobane; but not much is being done. This town is not only important to the Kurds but is and should be for Turkey as well. If Daesh manages to plow through Kobane, Turkey will have this oh so pleasant group of “happy people” at their border and soon crossing it.

So much is happening, but so little brain and effort is being put into formulating a solid plan of action. If the Zeus of the herculean pack cannot take seriously the implications of their slovenly and indifferent approach to responding to the Syrian conflict, then what nation will? Agree or not, but when it comes to addressing international issues it’s a “ follow the leader” type game; except now there is hardly a competent leader at all.

Evin Cheikosman is a Kurd living in Los Angeles, CA, A recent graduate in International Politics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she has studied abroad in Berlin, Germany and will soon be traveling to Zhuhai, China on a teaching assignment. Thereafter she will be pursuing a masters degree in foreign affairs. During her free time, Evin posts facts and opinions concerning Kurdish politics on her blog: Minority Politico

One Response to The American right gone wrong
  1. Adan Shakur
    October 7, 2014 | 18:30

    Welcome back Evin xan. Exceptional work and an interesting piece as always. Keep up the good work!

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