Editor,
Apropos the editorial, “ Paris is not for burning” (ST November 17, 2015), while agreeing that Paris is not for burning, history tells us that it burnt in 1793 when the reign of terror swept across the city killing more than 2000 supposed enemies of the French Revolution. In 1871 the urban resurrection in Paris slaughtered nearly 10,000 Parisians followed by more than five decades of Terrorism in France (1962 to 2015). So history repeats itself and violent history continues. In the absence of a Unified Strategy it will not be easy to destroy ISIS. The success of ISIS has not just led to individuals joining them, but entire terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and Egypt have folded under this new “Caliphate”. They are also working hand in hand with some elements of alQaida in Syria. Anti- ISIS coalition is now made up of more than 60 countries but they are struggling to come up with a clear strategy. So far, they have done little to destroy ISIS aside from carrying out airstrikes and condemning their brutality. The New York Post reported that American Military officials have stated that no amount of airstrikes will completely destroy IS and that ground troops will be required. A US State Department official stated that ISIS is worse than al-Qaida and represents a threat “worse than al-Qaida with the capability to create a sanctuary for global jihadists working to threaten American interests. The Daily Beast states, “ The self-declared Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is no longer merely a terrorist organisation, a top State Department official told House and Senate lawmakers, but ‘a full blown army seeking to establish a self-governing state through the Tigris and Euphrates Valley in what is now Syria and Iraq’.” Vice News documentary summarised the situation this way: “While no one knows exactly how to deal with the escalating crisis, the fighters of the Islamic State grow bolder.” Their stated goal could be summarised in the following way: unification of all Muslims and destruction of the western route to global domination. An IS Press Officer in Raqqa told a Vice News journalist: “I say to America that the Islamic State has been established. And we will not stop.
Don’t be cowards and attack us with drones. Instead send your soldiers, the ones we humiliated in Iraq. We will humiliate them everywhere, God willing, and we will raise the flag of Allah in the White House…” This dire warning portends a potential showdown between the unstoppable force (IS) and the immoveable object (Christianity and the West). These dangerous times have caused millions of people, Christians and nonChristians alike, to wonder if mankind has reached the “end-times.” Others believe without doubt that we are living in the “end of days.” However, China and Russia have rightly called for a global counter-terrorism front following Paris attacks. Both the countries have rightly asserted that UN Charter, International Law, and respect for national sovereignty should guide an international response to global security challenges. This view sharply contradicts the advocacy in the West of human rights driven approach for military interventions in sovereign States, under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect. President Xi JInping has rightly observed that “both the symptoms and the root causes of the issue should be addressed. Double standards should not be allowed”. The Russians have also rightly voiced full support for a “Universal anti-terror front” as the core instrument for combating terrorism, following the Paris attack. But despite the Sino-Russian advocacy for international legality to counter terrorism, France has now stepped up its air campaign in Syria, following the Paris attacks, without a UN Security Council resolution, or an invitation to do so by the Government in Syria. International alliance is imperative to counter the ISIS and this needs the support of US, EU, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran.
Yours etc.,
VK Lyngdoh,
Via email