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On January 17, the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson introduced the creation of a de- facto self-reliant Kurdish state in east Syria in order to be supported through the U.S. And defended through a US-backed proxy army of occupation.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday outlined a new U.S. Approach in Syria, hinging on keeping an indefinite navy presence within the country with the intention of ousting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and maintaining militant businesses at bay.
Speaking at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, Tillerson sought to make the case for an elevated U.S. Navy role, backed by way of a United Nations-brokered political resolution, within the warfare-torn country. A U.S. Withdrawal, he said, would probably have disastrous penalties.The complete withdrawal would restore Assad and continue brutal remedy of his possess humans, Tillerson mentioned. Tillerson outlines the plan for lengthy-time period US army role in Syria.
Tillerson’s feedback underscores the truth that contemporary setbacks within the 7-12 months-lengthy clash, have not dampened Washington’s resolution to topple the elected government of Syria and to impose it possesses political vision on the nation. As they also affirm that the United States intends to occupy materials of Syria for the foreseeable future. The secretary of state remarks on Wednesday signaled his most express endorsement but for long-term U.S. Military presence within the country.
President Donald Trumps technique to combating terrorism looks like the backside line, it looks loads like President Barack Obamas. It’s heavy on the use of particular operations raids and American airpower, however, it relies chiefly on indigenous forces to furnish the majority of the bottom forces.
To be certain, it’s not a carbon copy. It’s extra open to hazard authorizing extra missions than Obama could have, and delegate more selection-making to his subordinate military commanders. However in comparison with the principal alternatives, a big conventional invasion, unrestricted airstrikes, an arms-off technique, or anything else it’s more like Obamas 2016 coverage than now not.
Let’s be clear, Obamas 2016 policy used to be itself a repudiation of Obama’s own earlier process. From late 2011 unless late 2014, Obama tried very tough to enforce another form of global conflict on terror (GWOT), one way more in preserving with his preferred technique of off-shore balancing. Throughout this interval, Obama emphasized withdrawing U.S. Floor forces altogether and relying to a distinctive extent on neighborhood forces to do all of the heavy liftings. He also relied particularly widely on drone strikes for any kinetic motion.
Terrorism normally emerges when disempowered communities try and combat what they perceive injustice and oppression on this planet.The influence is what is most of the time called asymmetrical Warfare between state and non state actor’s, whereby, the non-state outfits violates international norms of War by means of focusing on civilians and exploiting the ensuing media exposure to carry a message, and within the approach, cast a miasma of dread over an entire population.
Terrorism having extraordinary colors throughout the historical past, i.e from secular terrorism, wherein, criticised and ridiculed was an elephant in the room for the elites, kings, and statesmen.In addition, an era of decolonization injected the new phenomenon within the type of independence actions until that time the general public was no longer on goal, however, the generation of religious extremism inflicted a Fatal blow on the general populace, for the reason that devout terrorism bark is worse than it’s the chunk.Most up to date and deadly type of terrorism was after an upward push of Islamic state narrative prompted underneath the umbrella of eschatological beliefs.
Eschatology, in short, is a part of theology concerned with the final events of history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity.This conception, followed by all religious theologies includes Muslim, Jews, Christians, Hinduism, and Zoroastrians.The apparent fall of the last stronghold of an Islamic state is no surprise to terrorism scholars.After the fall of Aleppo, Raqqa and the Syrian city Dabiq last October; consequently, IS demolished the 842-year old Al-Nuri mosque.It was the same mosque where Abu-bakar Al Baghdadi made his first appearance.Recent reports suggest that Baghdadi got injured as a result of Russian missiles launched from a warplane. The first observation to take into account that apocalyptic beliefs were not widespread throughout the Middle-East before the U.S led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The military invasion radically transformed the landscape of eschatological ideologies, resulting in widespread apocalyptic thinking within both the Sunni Salafist and Shitte communities.One Sunni Salafist caught up in this groundswell of apocalyptic thinking named Abu Musab Al Zarqawi was a bloodthirsty madman; although, Osama bin Laden didn’t agree with his brutal tactics war agenda of beheading the shite Muslim. Zarqawi became the leader of Al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq after he fled from Afghanistan. Zarqawi was also an apocalyptic extremist ideology while OBL was a less grandiose view about an imminent end to the contemporary world.
For example, before the U.S drone strike on Zarqawi in 2006, Zarqawi famously acknowledged that “the spark has been lit here in Iraq and its heat will continue to intensify by Allah,s permission until it burns the crusaders armies in Dabiq(Syria).Dabiq is a small city in Syria that has strategically less significance but IS used it for their political interests; because, this city is where the battle called Armageddon will happen according to eschatological beliefs.Most importantly ISIS is still operating its propaganda magazine named Dabiq. After the death of Zarqawi, a man named Abu Ayyub al-Masri having close ties with Al Qaeda took over charge of Middle East operation in Iraq, during the tenure of this man the group was re-branded as the Islamic State of Iraq.
For Masri political aims, his primary apocalyptic focus was the appearance of the Mahdi(messianic figure in Islam) referred through the Prophecies that he will lead the battle of Armageddon in the current Syrian city called Dabiq.Although Masri made a number of strategic decisions based on his eschatological convictions.He was actually criticized by some of his own colleagues to which he hard-nosed responded that “The Mahdi will come any day.” Generally speaking, Islamic state of Iraq was using this propaganda to maximize the recruitment process in their organization; resultantly, they got a cosmic fan following all over the world including Middle East, Europe, America and Asia.
After Masri death in the Iraqi city of Tikrit in 2010, Abu Baker al-Baghdadi took over the charge of a so-called black banner,s Army.After the breakout of Syrian civil war, the al-Qaeda affiliate outfit namely Jabhat ul Nusra(Army of conquest) now Fateh al-sham group announced its formation on 23 January 2012. In 2013 Baghdadi shocked the world by announcing that Al Nusra front is now under command and control of ISI(Islamic State of Iraq) rightly after this merger it became Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Levant).
Baghdadi announced that we are forming a caliphate just like Ottoman Empire, albeit ISIS never ever recognized Ottoman Empire as a legitimate Empire but interests paved a way of long admiration for the purpose of political and military maneuvering tactics. Baghdadi smartly maintained the eschatological beliefs to be alive after the death of Masri, so the focus has been changed under the leadership of Baghdad.ISIS began to materialize the foundation of an actual Islamic state having the system of taxes, healthcare, law, courts and a huge territory.
Since the continuous shifts in political stance of ISIS or having a dramatic tendency of changes in apocalyptic targets as compared with the past, so there will be a huge possibility that ISIS will have new targets in the coming future.For example, ISIS first began to lose his territory, so it sharply changed its strategy from inward state building to outward foreign attacks with the help of lone wolves or small groups; therefore, this technique opened a new type of phenomenon that is transnational terrorism.Many incidents occurred in this connection such as Metrojet flight 9268(flight from Cairo to st.Petersburg), vehicle attack on London Bridge, Spain, France, Belgium, Russia and America recent attacks.
Yet another reason for concern is that Islamic state has been successful to indoctrinate it’s extremist ideology into the minds of Young generation across the globe, therefore ISIS pronounced openly and called Younger generation as the cubs of the caliphate.The youth acceptance to radicalization had direct links with American intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq.A study reminded years ago, that there is the huge psychological impact on the youth due to effects of war on terror in the region.
The political grievances also played a vital role in bringing extremism in the society, I.e The Sykes-Picot agreement that enabled European powers to partition the Ottoman Empire, this issue consistently pronounced by fighters in their video speeches.OBL once said that American presence in KSA was a major source of his enmity towards America.OBL also identified American sanctions on Iraq causes hatred because of these sanctions an estimated 500,000 excess childhood deaths occurred according to UNICEF report(1999).
The experts expressed concerns that climate change worsens terrorism in the coming decades.The high ranking US officials like former defense secretary Chuck Hagel and former CIA director John Brennan as well as Department of defending itself and also by peer-reviewed scientific papers linking global warming with the Syrian civil war. Terrorism scholar Mark Juergensmeyer argued in his book that climate change, in particular, could exacerbate the apocalyptic terrorism.
By the end of the year, the self-proclaimed caliphate of ISIS had fully collapsed in both Syria and Iraq thanks to the efforts of Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria along with Iraqi forces and US coalition forces.ISIS in the form of terrorist state does not exist anymore, however, this does not mean Syria and Iraq will face come soon because of a lot of ISIS sleepers cells and former ISIS supporters presence in both countries.Syrian Al-Qaeda branch now known as HayaL Tahrir Al-Sham controls Idlib and Kurdish-Arab tensions are escalating in northern Syria and Iraq. These issues cannot be ignored and will become an important part of post ISIS standoff in the region.
Now US, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Syria are increasing diplomatic activity in order to find a way which could allow starting developing a final political settlement of the crisis.They all had objected influence on the ground and have some contradictory goals, this complicates the situation, special reference with lack of the strategic vision from US which according to US experts that the US has no long-term strategy for terrorism in Syria.
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis presented his National Defense Strategy on Friday, outlining how the Department of Defense will carry out President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, which was released last month.
“Though we will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we’re engaged in today, the great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of US national security,” Mattis said in his opening statements at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
The DoD,s suggest that US foreign policy motives lie in the containment of China and Russia, rather focusing on the emerging threat of transnational terrorism, maybe American wants to shift their burden on their rival in the region, which possibly starts a new cold war.On the other hand, Americans having collaboration with PYD on the northern hemisphere of Syria particularly in Afrin, which is bordering with Turkey.PYD is an offshoot of PKK Kurdish nationalist organization, which Turkey called upon a terrorist group.Ankara reacts harshly on this American move, which created a rift between Washington and Ankara.
To conclude, terrorist outfits come and go, the ultra-modern variation within the museum of eschatological ideologies is an Islamic state.The ancient occasions of history are disseminated with eschatological ideologies, a few of them tried to convey about the apocalypse or make the way for it to occur. So these terrorist outfits reassess the current affairs via the lenses of misused interpretation of eschatological beliefs.
There should be a conducive approach to eradicate the radicalization from all spheres, which reasons extremism and confront the foundation factors of terrorism, western intervention, global climate change and religious terrorism in particular apocalyptic terrorism.
