What citizens of other countries are reading about the Middle East.
By MEDIA LINEUpdated: JULY 2, 2015 11:20A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter looks out toward Islamic State positions 30 kilometers from the Iraqi city of Mosul, in June.(photo credit: LAURA KELLY)The Islamic State’s three branchesAl-Hayat, London, June 20This week marks the one-year anniversary of the fall of Mosul, one of Iraq’s largest cities, into the hands of the Islamic State. Today, ISIS controls several million Iraqis, who live under its rule and rely on its authorities in their everyday lives. These Iraqi children are educated in Islamic State-sponsored schools, their sick are treated in Islamic State-controlled hospitals, and their prisoners appear before Islamic State-sanctioned courts. All the while, the Islamic State increases its foothold in more and more regions of the Levant. The problem with the West’s battle against ISIS is that it fails to understand that there are three branches to the Islamic State, each of which has to be battled differently. The first is the Islamic State in places like Saudi Arabia, stable and powerful Arab countries that are able to protect themselves independently. In such places, ISIS works to wreak havoc wherever there is little state control, and the best way of fighting the organization is to directly target its members and tame them. More policing, more air strikes, and more public security are sufficient means in defeating the organization. The second branch is the one in Syria. The Syrian regime is taking advantage of the presence of ISIS in the country in order to carry out attacks against the opposition and suppress the ongoing revolution. The average Syrian cannot wait to get rid of Assad and will therefore not shy away from supporting the Islamic State – if it guarantees a change of regime. There is no easy way to defeat this branch of ISIS without facilitating Assad’s resignation and the establishment of a moderate new regime. The third and most difficult branch is the one in Iraq. This is likely to be the hardest to eliminate, since the Islamic State controls vast territories in the country and, more importantly, a huge population. There will be no way to tame the organization without killing thousands of innocent Iraqis, who currently live under ISIS rule. To make things worse, such strikes can be realistically carried out only by the United States and its allies, making it highly controversial. Distinguishing between these three types of organizations is important. There is no doubt that, eventually, all three branches of the Islamic State will fall. The question is how long it will take, and what price we will pay along the way.– Jamal Khashkiji Honestly, this is a global warAl-Mada, Iraq, June 26From France to Tunisia and Kuwait, this weekend has seen several terror attacks that took the lives of many innocent civilians. These attacks join the horrible events that take place daily in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen. We tend to overlook and forget those all too often. Terrorism doesn’t distinguish between blood and blood, nor does it respect places of worship.Bombs go off in mosques and churches, in hotel resorts, schools and factories. The recent attacks reaffirm the notion that terrorism has no state. No single country is safe from terrorism. What we are witnessing today is a global war aimed at all peoples, one that requires an intercontinental alliance to combat.About 80 years ago, the world experienced a change in mindset, as it realized it must fight Nazism. Just as the Allies came together then, the world today must join hands in the fight against the terrorism epidemic. The notion of national sovereignty will be required to undergo some readjustment. International and national borders must be altered in order to defeat humanity’s common enemy. We Iraqis are often blamed for not being able to defeat the Islamic State on our own. But the grim reality is that no single country ever could.Only if we change our way of thinking and our willingness to fight together, will we succeed in defeating terrorism.– Adnan HusseinYet another extension of the nuclear talks?Al-Nahar, Lebanon, June 27It seems like the nuclear negotiations with Iran are headed toward yet another extension. The deadline, which was set for the end of June, is becoming less and less realistic, with the new redlines drawn by the Iranian regime. While President Hassan Rouhani is determined to reach a reasonable agreement that would alleviate the sanctions and improve the dire economic situation in his country, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei places stricter and stricter Iranian demands. Khamenei rejected inspection of any Iranian military sites by the West, while the G7 demands that such inspections be allowed. In fact, the Iranian Shura Council recently passed a resolution prohibiting foreign inspectors from visiting scientific research sites in the country, citing a “violation of Iranian sovereignty.” This raises serious doubts around Iran’s true intentions with the nuclear deal and the current state of its nuclear program.French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was just one of several senior officials who publicly expressed doubt about the possibility of reaching an agreement with Tehran. The deadline that was set to take place in just two weeks seems highly unlikely to be met, and chances are that the talks will be extended. No one seems to be concerned what the new deadline will be.It is likely, in all honesty, to be extended as well.– Rajeh al-KhouriA new Russian-Saudi allianceAl-Sharq al-Awsat, London, June 20Last week, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Ibn Salman made a state visit to Russia. Details about the visit were not made available, but it is quickly becoming clear that the looming nuclear deal with Iran is pushing Saudi Arabia to join the “nuclear club.” It is most likely that Ibn Salman visited Moscow in order to discuss the construction of 15 Russian-backed nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia in the upcoming year. Surely, these reactors could be used for peaceful purposes; but at the end of the day this move suggests that Riyadh is not happy with Washington. We must keep in mind that only several weeks ago President Barack Obama invited Gulf leaders to Camp David, in an attempt to quell their anger over the concessions given to Tehran.After no security guarantees or reassurances were given to them, the leaders returned to their homes, discontented. This week, Saudi Arabia decided to find itself new allies, by reaching out to Moscow. In a time and age where the United States is trying to pull out its forces and disengage from the region, Russia is becoming ever more involved. Obviously, world orders are not likely to change in the short term. Saudi Arabia cannot turn its back against a crucial ally like the United States. But in the long run, Riyadh is interested in warming its ties with Russia, which is an important regional player. This is a new development that should bring decision-makers in the White House to reevaluate their foreign policy.– Abd al-Rahman al-Rashedhttp://www.themedialine.org/
Related Tagscurrent world news
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store