...from experience, we know that the American intervention will not weaken the spread of extremism, rather, it will increase the spread of extremism
It is only natural for the Arab governments to support and even participate in the international alliance to face the Islamic State (ISIS). The issue for these governments is not a fear of the organisation itself, but because the war on ISIS will give them the chance to eliminate the forces of change, justify their oppression, establish a functional role for itself, and guarantee America's blessing and support. However, the elite's support of foreign military intervention, even by the same forces and voices that had opposed America's invasion of Iraq and opposed a Western resolution against the regime in Syria, is an indication of the state of fear and helplessness that is prevalent in the Arab community.
This unprecedented fear that paralyses all thought and vision is not caused by the size of ISIS, but the high level of response and interaction with ISIS that has reached the point of justifying all of its crimes. Meaning, they fear that a destructive giant created by distorted concepts, marginalisation, oppression and poverty will emerge as a result of decades of oppression.
Therefore, there are many elites willing to overlook the nature of the American intervention and its history, despite its effects, which are still apparent, especially in Iraq, in order to rescue what it believes is a way of life, which is being attacked. Based on this, many elites are also turning a blind eye to the oppression and injustice exercised by governments under the pretext of eliminating ISIS and the like.
We now find that the current debate has proposed a military solution under American leadership as the sole solution, and therefore, we fall into the trap of demanding that those opposed to this proposal come up with alternative solutions that excuse us from confronting the governments by adopting new policies to dry up the intellectual sources, thus eliminating the source of religious extremism. This is especially true because the same governments contributed to creating this phenomenon with the support, and sometimes funding of America.
The result of this was an implicit alliance between many elites, and even some popular forces, with the governments which started by imposing oppressive policies and impoverishment, benefitting from the ISIS scarecrow, and was therefore no longer under true pressure to face the roots of extremism and address them, with the exception of security solutions. Our communities have been oppressed for too long, driving the dominated and oppressed towards the ISIS school of thought and its absolute rulings, making it an outlet for despair and anger.
This proposal is not convincing to the supporters of intervention because they only want a solution involving the physical elimination of ISIS, but the question is, is a military war, including all the risks that come with allowing the states to get involved in the American agenda which contradicts the interests of the people, going to actually succeed in eliminating ISIS?
The experience in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to the emergence of new factions, some of which are even more brutal and extremist than Al-Qaeda itself. ISIS is a result of the American wars, as the creation of extremist "political Islam" based on Wahhabism was one of the pillars of the policy in confronting the Communist, left-wing and nationalist expansion in the region.
When the magic was turned on the magician, Al-Qaeda engaged in conflict with America, the Arab world lost because Al-Qaeda was, to many, the answer to the American domination.
In Iraq, we saw organisations that had emerged from, or were inspired by, Al-Qaeda join the Iraqi resistance against the American occupation, hitting the resistance from the inside. These organisations also contributed to widening the sectarian gap. In Syria, groups that mostly originated from Al-Qaeda in Iraq emerged, which weakened the legitimate popular demands, thus undermining the Syrian revolution.
The American wars were not concerned with eliminating and uprooting extremist, rather, containing its effects on American and Israeli interests. The dominance of obscurantist movements confronting America actually strengthens the American role in the region because it becomes the civilised saviour, while it continued to support Israel and carry out its colonial policies.
The question is always, what's the solution? But before asking ourselves this, we must acknowledge that, from experience, we know that the American intervention will not weaken the spread of extremism, rather, it will increase the spread of extremism. If we cannot admit this, then we are totally out of touch with reality.
Translated from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, 23 September, 2014
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